Blog | Tennessee State Museum

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11-21-19

Tasting the History of Barbecue

by Rob DeHart Pork barbecue illustrates how three different food traditions— Southeastern Indian, West African, and West European— came together in America to create one of the South’s most celebrated dishes. But how did barbecue taste 80, 150, and 300 years ago? This was the question the Museum sought to answer when it hosted, in partnership with the Nashville Farmers' Market, a barbecue tasting workshop earlier this fall. Part historic re-creation and part experiment,... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 11-21-19

Classes Exhibitions Tennessee Foodways

10-1-19

From Prohibition to Suffrage, The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union Played a Role

by Aubrie McDaniel In the Spring of 2020, the State Museum will commemorate the Woman Suffrage movement and the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment with a major exhibition in the Museum’s temporary galleries. Leading up to and during the exhibition, we’ll be using our collection to highlight stories related to the Suffrage movement and women’s history in Tennessee. by Aubrie McDaniel Formed in 1874, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (W... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 10-1-19

Featured Suffrage Women's History

9-16-19

Grit History: A Comfort Food Loaded with Strife

Erin Byers Murray, author of Grits: A Cultural & Culinary Journey Through the South, joins Tandy Wilson, chef at City House, and Keitlyn Alcantrana, PhD candidate of Anthropological Bioarchaeology at Vanderbilt University, "In Conversation" with Tennessee State Museum curator Rob DeHart on Saturday, September 21 at 2 p.m. in the Museum's Digital Learning Center (DLC). The event is free, though reservations are required. Learn more and register at this lin... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 9-16-19

8-30-19

Read the Summer Edition of the Tennessee State Museum Quarterly Newsletter

The latest edition of the Tennessee State Museum Quarterly Newsletter, with a cover story by curator Rob DeHart on the exhibition, Let's Eat! Origins and Evolutions of Tennessee Food, is available online now as a PDF download. Also included in the issue is more information on permanent exhibitions and current temporary shows, education news, new acquisitions, a letter from our executive director, a calendar of events and more. Download now. Read More

at 8-30-19

8-29-19

So You Want to Be A Food Festival Judge?

by Joe Pagetta More than 20 unique food festivals, that take place throughout all three grand divisions of Tennessee, are represented in the Tennessee State Museum’s current temporary exhibition, Let’s Eat! Origins and Evolutions of Tennessee Food. They range from Memphis in May to the Grains & Grits Festival in Townsend; from the Obion County Cornfest in Union City to Doodle Soup Days in Bradford; and from the National Moo Fest in Athens to the International Cowpea Fest... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 8-29-19

Exhibitions Featured Tennessee Foodways

8-14-19

Let's Eat! Recipes from the State Museum Exhibition

The Tasting Tennessee videos in the Tennessee State Museum’s new exhibition, Let’s Eat! Origins and Evolutions of Tennessee Food bring a contemporary spin to decades-old recipes by notable Tennessee cooks, Malinda Russell, Rufus Estes and Mary Bobo. Each of the six videos illustrates for the viewer the steps to recreate the historical recipes. Be sure to visit the Museum to see the full videos. In the meantime, here are the recipes to try for yourself... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 8-14-19

Exhibitions Featured Tennessee Foodways

7-5-19

This Promise of Change

by Mamie Hassell The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, stated that “no state may deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law.” Many Southern states found loopholes when the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case ruled in 1896 that the 14th Amendment was not violated as long as the state provided “separate but equal” facilities or accommodations for African Americans. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. B... Read More

at 7-5-19

BlackHistory Book Club

6-4-19

Uncle Bobby and D-Day

by Dan E. Pomeroy Among the many heirlooms that I have inherited is my mother’s family photo album. I was reminded of it again the other night as I was watching television and a news story came on about the up-coming 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy (on Thursday, June 6). My Uncle Bobby Kabrich was one of the soldiers who landed on Omaha Beach on that fateful day of June 6, as a member of the 29th Infantry Division. He had graduated from high school barely ... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 6-4-19

WWII

6-4-19

Tennessee State Museum Explores the Rich and Diverse History of Tennessee Food in New Exhibition

The Tennessee State Museum will explore the rich and diverse history of Tennessee’s food through a new exhibition, Let’s Eat! Origins and Evolutions of Tennessee Food, set to open on August 9, 2019 at the Museum’s Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park location in Nashville and run through February 2, 2020. “Whether barbecued, fried, roasted, pickled, or chilled, the food of Tennessee, and the southern United States, is a meeting of Southeastern Indian, West Europe... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 6-4-19

Featured Tennessee Foodways

5-30-19

Read the Spring Edition of the Tennessee State Museum Quarterly Newsletter

The latest edition of the Tennessee State Museum Quarterly Newsletter, with a cover story by curator Rob DeHart on the exhibition, The State of Sound: Tennessee’s Musical Heritage, is available online now as a PDF download. Also included in the issue is more information on permanent exhibitions and current temporary shows, education news, new acquisitions, a letter from our executive director, a calendar of events and more. Download now. Read More

at 5-30-19

5-6-19

Ed Westcott: A Photo Assignment of (and for) a Lifetime

by Nick Fielder Imagine, if you will, that you are a 20-year-old photographer working for the Nashville office of the Corps of Engineers in 1942. You are told to report to East Tennessee to photograph a new construction project near Knoxville called the Clinton Engineer Works. Upon arrival you are given a badge and told you can go anywhere on the site but cannot tell anyone what you see, hear or photograph. This is what happened to Ed Westcott as he documented the secret Manhattan ... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 5-6-19

Exhibitions Featured WWII

4-25-19

The Pulitzer Prize and the Tennessee State Museum

by Joe Pagetta When Townsend, Tennessee novelist Richard Powers won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for fiction earlier this month for his book, The Overstory, it was, as Chapter 16 reminded us in its newsletter, the first time in a decade that a Tennessee-connected writer had won the prestigious award. The last time was in 2009, when Chattanooga native Jon Meacham won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in biography for American Lion, his profile of Andrew Jackson. Chapter 16 also reminded us that Tennessee wr... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 4-25-19

Exhibitions Featured Literature

3-20-19

80 Years Ago, Tennessee's Famous 'Boy Adventurer' Met His Untimely Death

by Scott Williams It was 80 years ago this month, presumably on March 24, 1939, that Brownsville, Tennessee-native Richard Halliburton, the most famous travel and adventure writer of his time, met his untimely death while sailing a Chinese junk across the Pacific Ocean. In this post, originally published as the preface to his book, The Forgotten Adventures of Richard Halliburton: A High-Flying Life from Tennessee to Timbuktu (2014), writer Scott Williams looks back on&nbs... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 3-20-19

Featured Literature

3-6-19

A Look Back at Tennessee’s War of the Roses

by Mary Skinner In 1920, it was Tennessee’s deciding vote that ratified the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and gave American women the right to vote. Tennessee women of different races and economic backgrounds worked to persuade state legislators to vote for women’s suffrage. In the early 1900s, Tennessee suffragists marched for women’s voting rights in communities across the state wearing the colors adopted by the National American Woma... Read More

Posted by Mary Skinner at 3-6-19

2-19-19

Resources for Water-Damaged Textiles, Books and other Heirlooms

Tennessee has seen an enormous amount of rainfall so far in 2019, with more to come this week, resulting in flash flooding, damaged greenways and more. It's also led to flooded basements, crawlspaces and leaky roofs, which for many means unfortunate damage to treasured family heirlooms, textiles, papers, books and other objects. The good news is that all hope is not lost. As a history Museum, we know how important it is to preserve, conserve and rescue these items. Below are links to... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 2-19-19

2-2-19

Grant Shockley Fought and Died for America; A Decade Later, His Mother Fought for Civil Rights

by Lisa M. Budreau, Ph.D. In 1917, the United States drafted 61,069 Tennesseans into the First World War; roughly 17,339 were African Americans from across the state. They were part of an eventual two million American servicemen who were transported to the Western Front to join our allies in a global war that had been underway since 1914. African American and white men living in the rural south bore much of the burden for fighting this war. Although disproportionately drafted, most black ... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 2-2-19

BlackHistory Exhibitions Featured WWI

1-23-19

Book Club | February 2019 Selection: "A Summons to Memphis" by Peter Taylor

Join the Tennessee State Museum, in partnership with the Nashville Public Library, for the launch of the Tennessee State Museum Book Club, as we read and discuss Peter Taylor's 1987 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Summons to Memphis. The first gathering of the club, on Thursday, February 7 from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., will include a short presentation about the author and book, followed by a guided discussion with librarian John McFarland. RSVP HERE THROUGH EVENTBRITE About A... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 1-23-19

Book Club

1-17-19

Tennessee Inauguration Style | What One Governor and First Lady Wore

by Joe Pagetta This weekend marks the inauguration of Tennessee’s 50th Governor, Bill Lee. It will be full of festivities, including a party on Lower Broadway, a prayer service at the Grand Ole Opry House, an open house at the Tennessee Residence/Governor’s Mansion and tours of the State Capitol and Tennessee State Museum. All of the events revolve around the most important one, the inauguration, which will take place inside War Memorial Auditorium on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 1... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 1-17-19

Exhibitions Fashion

12-7-18

Recipe | Dried Apple Stack Cake Evokes Memories of Appalachian Christmas Holidays

by Rob Dehart What foods do you associate with Christmas? For some in East Tennessee, it is the dried apple stack cake, a labor-intensive confection with ingredients that are simple and inexpensive. According to Fred Sauceman, Senior Writer and Associate Professor of Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University, most of the ingredients with the exception of flour could be found on the farm. Spices were difficult to get in some areas of Appalachia during hard economic times, so ther... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 12-7-18

Tennessee Foodways

11-29-18

Red Grooms to Discuss Life and Work at Tennessee State Museum

Charles “Red” Grooms, the Tennessee-born, internationally-acclaimed pop artist, will discuss his life and work as part of “In Conversation: Red Grooms” on Saturday, December 15 at 2:00 p.m. at the Museum. The event is free and open to the public, though seating is limited and reservations are required. Visitors can RSVP through the Calendar of Events at or directly though Eventbrite to secure their seating. Grooms, whose career is celebrated in the current e... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 11-29-18

Exhibitions Red Grooms

11-27-18

Tennessee State Museum to Explore the Art and Story in Tennessee Quilts with New Exhibition

The Tennessee State Museum’s first new exhibition since its grand opening will be “Between the Layers: Art and Story in Tennessee Quilts.” Slated to open February 8 and run through July 7, 2019, with quilts selected from the Museum’s vast collection, the show will highlight Tennessee’s quilt artistry and the stories embedded in those quilts, across more than two centuries and all three grand divisions of the state. One of those stories is Rebecah Foster&rsq... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 11-27-18

Exhibitions Featured Quilts

11-27-18

Tennesseans, and their Families, Made the Ultimate Sacrifice During World War I

In The Tennessean, on the 100th Anniversary of the end of WWI, Lisa M. Budreau, PhD, Senior Curator of Military History at Tennessee State Museum and author of Bodies of War: World War I and the Politics of Commemoration in America, 1919-1933, (New York University Press, 2010), writes of the ultimate sacrifice paid by Tennesseans and their families during the war. "Over 100,000 Tennesseans volunteered or were drafted," she writes, "six of them receiv... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 11-27-18

BlackHistory Exhibitions Featured World War I WWI

Stories

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