|
The Metro Historical Commission extends a warm welcome to two new commissioners, Lynne Holliday and Richard Courtney.
Lynne Holliday previously held the position of Senior Research Consultant with the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) and is a retired consultant from the University of Tennessee County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS). She also assisted in efforts to make the Belmont-Hillsboro neighborhood a conservation district.
A professional Realtor® in Nashville for more than 35 years, Richard Courtney is one of Nashville’s top-ranked real estate brokers. Courtney has served on the boards of the national, state and local Realtor associations, and he is a past president of the Greater Nashville Realtors. He also is the weekly real estate columnist for the Nashville Ledger and author of Buyers are Liars & Sellers are Too!, The Truth About Buying or Selling Your Home (Simon & Schuster); and Come Together: The Business Wisdom of The Beatles (Turner Publishing). An active leader in the community, Courtney served on the Electric Power Board for 7 years, including 2 years as chair, as well as the Habitat for Humanity advisory board and St. Luke’s Community House board of directors. He currently serves on the boards of Leadership Nashville Alumni Association and the Middle TN Council Boy Scouts of America Nashville District Friends of Scouting. He also coaches boys' basketball at Ensworth Lower School. Courtney lives in Green Hills with his wife, Beth Seigenthaler Courtney, and their son and daughter.
 |
MHC staff completed a fourth day of architectural survey in Joelton at the end of February. One of the most unique properties surveyed was Shadowbrook, a 1929 Tudor Revival mansion, currently and historically used as an event venue, that backs up to Lake Marrowbone. The building retains original log construction, with local stone detailing, diamond-pane wood windows, and a multi-level pebbled terrace.
Marker Update: The Metro Historical Commission approved two new markers in Council Districts 6 and 8 for the Historical Marker Project. In District 6, the Cora Howe/Eastland marker will detail the history of Mrs. Howe's English-style gardens that were located along Greenwood Avenue, across from the present-day Cora Howe Exceptional School. The marker will also give some of the history about the Eastland (now Eastwood) area. Council District 8 has chosen the former home of June Carter, located off Gibson Drive in Madison, as the topic and location for their marker. The text will include details about the broader Carter family contributions to country music history, including June's hit "Ring of Fire" and Mother Maybelle's transformative "Carter scratch" style of guitar picking.
 In January, Paula
Person joined the MHC staff as the new Administrative Assistant. Ms. Person has
a dynamic background, having most recently worked as an Operations
Administrative Assistant at the Music City Convention Center. In addition to
experience in the banking industry, she served as an Administrative Clerk for
the U.S. Army in Savannah, GA.
Paula earned her Master of Business
Administration from Bethel University in 2017, and has a Bachelor of Science
degree in Business Management and Organizational Development. Welcome to the
MHC, Paula!
|
 |
The 2018 Nashville Conference on African-American History and Culture was a huge success! If you were unable to attend, the full conference can be viewed on Metro's YouTube channel. We had almost 250 attendees this year, a record amount for this event. Speakers addressed myriad aspects of Nashville's African-American history, including research methodology, activism through the lens of black material culture, James C. Napier's many significant contributions, and the impacts of HBCU-educated African-Americans in rural communities. TSU's Meistersingers offered a rousing musical performance, and poets Gray Bulla and Constance Bynum performed their piece, entitled "Witness Walls." Curator Jamaal B. Sheats, of Fisk University, provided the "African-Americans of Nashville" exhibit, and author Dr. Herbert Clark, one of the conference speakers, had his book about James Napier available for purchase. Mayor Barry spoke to conference attendees, and a local news crew interviewed MHC Commissioner Linda Wynn, Assistant Director of State Programs at the Tennessee Historical Commission. Thanks to the planning committee and to all who attended for helping make this year's conference a memorable celebration of African-American contributions in history!
  
 Tennessee State University will unveil a state historical marker honoring First Lieutenant William McBryar, Buffalo Soldier and Medal of Honor recipient, at 1:00 p.m. March 20th, 2018 at 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd on Tennessee State University’s main campus. The marker is being placed under the Tennessee Historical Commission's state marker program. MHC Commissioner Linda Wynn is responsible for coordinating this program for the state.
Lt. William McBryar was an African-American military hero, and was considered one of the most distinguished soldiers of his generation. He was born on February 14, 1861 in Elizabethtown, North Carolina, and attended St. Augustine’s Normal School prior to enlisting as a soldier in the United States Army’s 10th Cavalry in 1887. On May 15, 1890, then-Sergeant McBryar, a Buffalo Soldier, was awarded America’s highest military decoration - the Congressional Medal of Honor - for his actions on March 7, 1890, during the Cherry Creek Campaign in the Arizona Territory.
McBryar distinguished himself for “coolness, bravery and marksmanship” while his troop was in pursuit of hostile Apache warriors. He went on to serve with the 25th Infantry in the Spanish-American War and fought at El Caney, Cuba. In a letter to Lt. McBryar, V.A. Caldwell (1st Lieutenant of the 25th Infantry) cites, “When this Company, H, landed in Cuba, there being but one commissioned officer with it, you were assigned to the command of its second platoon; at the action of El Caney, you brought this platoon on the firing line advancing it under a very hot fire from the Spaniards, setting its men an example of coolness, bravery, and soldierly bearing that gave its fire action a maximum value.”
Due to his bravery, he was recommended and received a commission as a member of the 8th Immune Regiment. McBryar also saw action in the Philippine Insurrection before demobilizing in San Francisco. McBryar attended Tennessee A & I State College, and in 1934 (at the age of 73) he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture. McBryar died March 8, 1941, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
|
 |
Arts and Music in Wedgewood-Houston--James Kilgore home movie screening--March 3
The Frist Center for the Visual Arts--Curator's Tour: Rome, City and Empire--March 1; Film: 13th with post-film Q&A with Project
Return--March 8
Historic Nashville--A Night of Songwriters--March 10
Belle Meade Plantation--Nashville Opera on Tour presents: "The Enchanted Forest"--March 11
Two Rivers Mansion--Phil the House with Art and Friends (free exhibit)--March 11
The Hermitage--Exploring Your Scots-Irish Genealogy--March 12-13; President Jackson’s 251st Birthday Celebration and Hosting the People's House: An Evening with the First Ladies--March 15
Tennessee State Museum--Lunch and Learn Lecture, "Mortimer May: A Tennessee Holocaust Hero"--March 15
Cheekwood Estate--Flower Arranging for Everyone Workshop--March 17
Riverfront Park--Music City Irish Fest--March 17
Historic Travellers Rest Plantation & Museum--"Guided Tour: A Silent Past"--March 18
Churchill Society of Tennessee's Regional Conference, "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory" (keynote speaker Randolph Churchill)-- March 23-24
East Park--East Nashville Eggstravaganza--March 24
Shelby Bottoms Nature Center--Free Public Star Party--March 24
The Frist Center for the Visual Arts--We Shall Overcome: Civil Rights and the Nashville Press, 1957–1968--March 30 thru October 14
Sevier Park--Easter Celebration--March 31
Nashville Public Library--Books and Brews at The Black Abbey Brewing Company (in celebration of the Potlikker Papers)--March 31
Lane Motor Museum--Exhibit: Fun In the Sun! Pplayful Yet Practical Convertibles from the 60s, 70s & 80s--thru April 16
|
