The annual Nashville Conference on African American History and Culture will be held on Friday, February 11th, 2022. Our theme this year is "Pioneers, Politics, and Preservation." Due to ongoing concerns surrounding COVID-19, the conference will be held virtually for the second year. 2022 marks the 41st year of this beloved event, presented in partnership with Tennessee State University. Registration is available online for $20 per ticket--see our event page for more details. Mail-in registration forms with check payment are also accepted, please contact Caroline.Eller@nashville.gov or call (615) 862-7970 for this option. All registrations must be received by Wednesday, February 9th. We hope you will join us!
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MHC News
The Call for Nominations for the 46th Annual Preservation Awards is open until Friday, February 11, 2022. Please visit our website for detailed information on qualifying projects and nomination submission process.
We are well into the procurement process for the Davidson County Cemetery Preservation Plan project, which received Phase I funding from a Tennessee Historical Commission grant in 2021. Staff held a pre-offer meeting in mid-January and accepted bids through January 27. Additionally, staff submitted an application for Phase II funding from the Tennessee Historical Commission on February 1st. In addition to digitizing numerous cemetery files, staff recently met with WPLN, Nashville's National Public Radio station, on site at the McBurne-Gray Cemetery in East Nashville to discuss the grant project and this suburban burial ground. WPLN produced this piece about the Cemetery Plan, highlighting the goals of this grant-funded project.
MHC staff recently submitted a Letter of Intent (LOI) on behalf of the Metro Historical Commission Foundation (MHCF) for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. If the LOI is accepted, MHCF will be invited to submit a full application in May. The request is for $75,000 to fund the survey and document the developmental history of Nashville's African American segregation-era neighborhoods, many of which are located in North Nashville and Bordeaux. This includes such neighborhoods as College Hill, Enchanted Hills, Haynes Heights, Gardner’s Gold Coast, Haynes Manor, Haynes Meade, Hillhurst, Clintondale, and Gardner’s Meadows—though additional districts may be identified. Deliverables include a countywide historical context, National Register listing(s) and creative form(s) of interpretation such as a Nashville Sites tour(s) or ArcGIS story maps.
Staff has drafted an RFQ for out National Park Service grant-funded Civil Rights history project and will be working with Metro Finance to initiate the procurement process in the next few weeks. Through research and survey, this project will create an historical context and National Register nomination(s) on Nashville Civil Rights related resources from 1944-1966.
MHC staff is working on two major projects at Fort Negley Park. The first is a restoration of some of the most important sections of stonework, including the sally port, the north escarpment wall, and the east inner wall. Metro has allocated more than a million dollars for the restoration. Staff is working with Metro Parks to develop the scope of work for The Tradesmen Group, contractors who will be performing the restoration, and Tennessee Valley Archaeological Research, who will be on hand to monitor for disturbance of underground resources. Staff is also continuing to work with Metro Parks and a team that was selected to prepare a Master Plan for the sixty-four acre site, including the fort itself and the former Greer Stadium site and associated parking lots. The team is nearing the end of the research phase of the project and will be moving on to developing improvement options in the coming weeks. They have been invited to meet with the MHC at the February commission meeting to gather input from the Commissioners and share the details of the process. The Fort Negley Master Plan is expected to be completed in mid-2022.
Staff has been working with Friends of Aaittafama' Archaeological Park, along with Metro Parks and a team of landscape architects from Hodgson Douglas Landscape Architects (HDLA), to develop the design for the park which will include an artful reconstruction of the palisade wall that surrounded the Mississippian Native American village, interpretation panels and park signage, as well as walking paths and a parking lot. Plans for the palisade wall and signage have been finalized and the team is in the process of soliciting construction bids from contractors.
MHZC News
The MHZC’s next public hearing will be held on Wednesday, February 16th at 2:00 p.m. at Sonny West Conference Center, Howard Office Building, 700 2nd Ave S. View the MHZC meeting schedule and application deadlines here. Access archived videos of the MHZC meetings on the Metro YouTube channel anytime!
MHZC will host a Contractor Class on Thursday, February 24th. This free training aims to help contractors and applicants better understand MHZC’s permitting and inspection processes, common construction and material requirements, and how to avoid common violations. Details and registration on our event page.
![[Official Seal of Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County]](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/fancy_images/TNNASH/2017/12/1699826/3896410/metro-seal-black-and-white_crop.png)
Staff continues to receive emails and phone calls about potential markers, most recently including for the Enchanted Hills neighborhood, Nashville Business College basketball team, and Parmer Field House and Dudley Field at Vanderbilt. These are in addition to the many privately funded markers and MHC-funded markers already in the works.
We anticipate several marker dedication ceremonies beginning around March. Watch our newsletters and social media for updates on these dedications!
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At the January MHC meeting, the commission approved a new historical marker for Alice Thompson Collinsworth, being privately funded by the Thompson-Collinsworth-Davis family. The marker will be placed at Crossings Blvd. and Mt. View Rd. One side of the marker includes text while the second side displays a sketch of the Edward and Alice Thompson Collinsworth ancestral home (seen at left). The marker reads:
"Alice Thompson (1777-1828) married Revolutionary War veteran Edward Collinsworth (1759-1816) in Dec. 1795, after spending two years as a captive at the Muscogee (Creek) tribal town Kialegee, in present-day Alabama. Alice and Edward reared seven children on land deeded to Alice by her brother John (c.1765-1791). Their son James (1802-1838) signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. Alice, Edward, daughter Parmelia and two more generations are buried at the nearby family cemetery."
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A Message from Ann Roberts, President of Metro Historical Commission Foundation
The Metro Historical Commission Foundation’s fundraiser, "Roaring Back with Music and History at Fisk," is on for Thursday, March 3rd, 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Continuing the celebration of their 150th anniversary – a celebration that included a Grammy win and national coverage -- the Fisk Jubilee Singers will perform for MHCF party guests in Jubilee Hall’s Appleton Room in the presence of the portrait commissioned by Queen Victoria in the 1870s.
The MHCF is the friends group that assists the Metro Historical Commission as it works to preserve Nashville’s rich history. The Foundation raises money for numerous MHC projects, such as Nashville Sites, the website that offers free tours of historic and cultural sites; recovery from disasters; and repair and maintenance of historic cemeteries throughout the county.
Like so many events, Roaring Back, which was originally planned for last November, has been buffeted by COVID. We are closely monitoring Fisk protocols and health news. We will post any COVID updates on the MHCF website. We are excited and determined, though, to do everything possible to roar back safely because the preservation needs are so great! Hope to see you on March 3rd!
The salvage of materials from the storefronts of 166-176 Second Avenue North is completed. Nashville Department of Transportation (NDOT, formerly Metro Public Works) will be clearing the General Services lot of the materials left over from the salvage effort, and the materials will continue to be stored at the lot until the owners begin that part of their rebuild. Again, many thanks to The District and the MHC Foundation for their 2nd Ave Strong fund that made this work possible. Additional thanks to NDOT and Metro General Services who assisted with the project.
For updated information on the city’s response to the bombing and related information, including recorded public meetings, various fundraising initiatives, and assistance resources for affected residents and merchants, check out the Nashville Downtown Partnership website's dedicated 2nd Avenue recovery page.
In honor of Black History Month, a photographic history with memorabilia of Meharry Medical College is on display throughout February in the gallery of the Main Library.
Green Hills History Club will hold weekly meetings on Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m. beginning February 1st at the Green Hills Branch. Meetings this month include the following topics and speakers:
February 8th - Allen Forkum, editor of the Nashville Retrospect: "Blood and Ink: Violence Among Nashville Newspaper Editors"
February 15th - Erin Adams, Director of Education at the Hermitage: "Who are the People?: Andrew Jackson's America"
February 22nd - Ridley Wills, author and local historian: "Belle Meade: A Legacy of Land, Love, and Lives"
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Beaman Park Nature Center will host a Geology Hike on Saturday, February 12th from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Elevation changes at Beaman Park allow for remarkable geology! Explore the shale creek bed of Henry Creek as well as the chert of our ridges.
Shelby Bottoms Nature Center will lead a Full Moon Hike on Wednesday, February 16th from 7:00-8:00 p.m. Join nature center staff for a guided moonlight hike and learn about why the February full moon can be referred to as the full (snow) moon.
On Saturday, February 12th at 2:00 p.m., join Fort Negley Park staff for a guided tour focusing on the site’s rich African American heritage. The one-mile walking tour will include discussions on why enslaved, free, and self-emancipated people came to Saint Cloud Hill and how their contributions to the war effort directly impacted the creation of the US Colored Troops, the Confederacy’s defeat, and the end of the slavery. Limited space available, please RSVP!
Check out these other events at Fort Negley this month:
Fort Negley Fossil Finders--Saturday, February 12th at 10:00, 10:30, 11:00 and 11:30 a.m. Limited space available, please RSVP!
Nashville Civil War Roundtable--Tuesday, February 15th at 7:00 p.m. Vanderbilt University Professor of History Brandon Hulette will present "Old Story, New Tricks: New Tools to Explore the Battle of Nashville."
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Nashville Sites has launched its first driving tour—Jefferson Street! Many thanks to MHC Commissioner Linda Wynn for her work on this project. Work continues on a Civil Rights driving tour, also with the help of Commissioner Wynn and MHZC commissioner Dr. Lea Williams. That tour should launch this spring. Staff are also working with Dr. Mary Ellen Pethel of Belmont University on a grant-funded Women’s Sports History tour that will launch in early March in conjunction with the SEC women’s basketball tournament in Nashville (2022 is also the 50th anniversary of Title IX.) In January, MHC hosted a high school intern from St. Cecilia Academy who assisted with the initial research for that tour.
Image above: Homecoming parade on Jefferson Street, 1950. Courtesy of Tennessee State University Special Collections.
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Ralph Wesley Mosley (1940-2022) is quoted as saying, "Always do your best. Be truthful. Work hard. Help other people." These words to live by summed up much of his life's work. He was father to MHZC Commissioner Ben Mosley, in addition to two other sons, Wesley and Lawrence. A native of Hendersonville, North Carolina, Ralph grew up in a farming community where he helped to harvest tobacco, cotton and peanuts at an early age. He earned a bachelors degree in Business from UNC-Chapel Hill, spending his summers selling books to pay his way. He served in the Navy, including on four trips to Vietnam to deliver troops and equipment in the mid-1960s. He worked for Southwestern Company in various administrative and financial positions, becoming Chairman/CEO in 1982 where he stayed until his 2005 retirement. His volunteer and community service was expansive, including roles with St. Thomas Hospital, United Way, the YMCA, Nashville Symphony, and Tennessee Repertory Theater. Over 40 of those years were spent volunteering with the Martha O'Bryan Center. He and his wife Juli (married in 1966) were members of Second Presbyterian Church since 1967. In addition to his many other pursuits, Mosley served on SunTrust Bank Board of Directors, T.W. Frierson Contractor Inc. Board, Community Foundation Board and served as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency.
Image credit: Crawford Mortuary & Crematory Services.
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Staff has hired an expert in historic stonework to repair several gravestones that were recently damaged by vandalism in sections 23 and 24 of the Nashville City Cemetery. The work is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.
Additionally, Staff is working with a blacksmith to repair a wrought-iron fence in section 13 that was damaged by a fallen tree branch in December.
Be sure to check out Nashville City Cemetery Association President Jeff Sellers' session about African Americans at the City Cemetery during the 41st Annual Nashville Conference on African American History and Culture on February 11th!
Image above: Nashville City Cemetery, January 2022. Credit: Metro Historical Commission.
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Travellers Rest is currently working with New South Associates to conduct a long-anticipated ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey on the property. This survey work in several designated areas will provide invaluable information about the landscape's archaeological resources.
In honor of African American History Month, Travellers Rest has announced a special guided grounds tour. "The Landscape of Enslavement" tour will discuss information about both enslaved and emancipated individuals that lived and labored at Travellers Rest during the 19th century. These specialty tours will take place on February 5th and 26th at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and are outdoor tours.
Guests are also invited to enjoy a complimentary house tour either before or after their scheduled grounds tour. House tours take approximately 1 hour and will need to be scheduled prior to your chosen grounds tour. Due to limited space, please contact Andy Blair via email or by phone at (615) 832-8197 x 15 to schedule your house tour.
Louisville native and former Nashvillian Jayme Coleman Williams (1918-2022) is remembered as a renowned educator, social activist and church leader. In 1938, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Wilberforce University (Ohio) and a master’s degree in English from Fisk University the following year. She taught English at several universities before earning her doctorate in speech communications at Ohio State University in 1959. Later that year, she joined the faculty at Tennessee State University (TSU) and became a professor of communications. She became head of the department in 1973, where she remained until her 1987 retirement. During her tenure at TSU, Oprah Winfrey, opera singer Leontyne Price, and Olympic track star Wilma Rudolph were among her students. Dr. Williams was a lifelong member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Notably, in the early 1960s, she and educator McDonald “Mack” Williams, her husband of 75 years, helped organize Nashville's lunch counter sit-ins during the civil rights movement. As noted by The Tennessean: "At the time, Williams was an advisor for the NAACP's Youth Council and sat on the executive committee of the organization’s Nashville branch. Each week they had mass meetings, and the couple transported students from various college campuses to downtown’s First Baptist Church, where the sit-ins were organized under the guidance of the church's Rev. Kelly Miller Smith." Dr. Williams served on the MHC from 1993 through 2005.
Image: Portrait of Dr. Jayme Coleman-Williams. Credit: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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This February, Nissan is generously sponsoring FREE admission Wednesdays this month at the National Museum of African American Music! In celebration of Black History Month, every Wednesday during the month of February from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., all guests can enjoy complimentary entry to the museum, courtesy of Nissan. No tickets required.
NMAAM also recently announced the release of a highly anticipated documentary, stating: "In partnership with American Songwriter and Resanant Bank, we're thrilled to present the eagerly-anticipated Rivers of Rhythm documentary. This 6-part series, inspired by NMAAM's Rivers of Rhythm corridor and the stories in our galleries, chronicles the history of African American music and features leading music scholars, including NMAAM curators Dr. Steven Lewis and Dr. Marquita Reed." Rivers of Rhythm premiered Tuesday, Feb. 1st, with new episodes releasing each Tuesday on American Songwriter's YouTube channel.
Image above: View of NMAAM interior. Credit: NMAAM Instagram.
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Belmont Mansion continues to coordinate multiple restoration efforts, including those of the grand staircase, basement rooms, and Grand Salon ceiling. In 2021, a new historically accurate patterned carpet was produced in England by Grosvenor Wilton Company (est. 1790), based on existing documentation and installed by a Cincinnati-based company on the monumental, cantilevered staircase. This is the first time in over 130 years that Belmont Mansions's staircase has had patterned carpet on the stairs. Mr. and Mrs. Steven Tanner funded this project.
The Mansion is also working to convert basement rooms including a kitchen, food storage, and laundry rooms--previously converted to offices--back to their original functional spaces. The conversion will aid in the overall understanding and visitor experience, better representing what these spaces were like for those who lived and worked at the Mansion, many of whom were African American men, women, and children (both free and enslaved) and European immigrants.
On January 1st, restoration work began on the Grand Salon ceiling. According to the Mansion, "This is the last major step in the restoration of the largest interior space built in Tennessee prior to the Civil War. An architecturally significant room, it was decorated to impress with a ceiling painted to resemble a blue Tennessee sky." To learn more about the various restoration projects at Belmont Mansion, visit their "Preserving Belmont Mansion" page.
Be sure to check out the newly-revised virtual grounds tour of Belmont Mansion to learn more about the history of the site, including an expanded section on the enslaved and free Black men and women and European immigrants whose labor supported the estate.
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Applications are being accepted for the National Park Service's Historic Preservation Fund for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) preservation grant program through March 8th. These funds can be used for restoration of buildings on HBCU campuses and do not require local matching funds. Awards range from $50,000-$500,000.
In 1988, the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Preservation grant program was established to document, preserve, and stabilize historic structures on HBCU campuses. The HBCU grant program exists to repair historic structures on campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities that are listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places either individually or as contributing to a National Register or National Historic Landmark historic district. Projects must meet major program selection criteria and all work must meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation.
41st Annual Nashville Conference on African American History and Culture--February 11
Tennessee State Library and Archives--Tennessee Frontier - How Tennessee’s Land Influenced Where Pioneers Settled--February 11
Fort Negley Park--Soldiers of Freedom Tour (RSVP)--February 12
Tennessee State Museum--Then and Now: A Black Craft Symposium--February 12
Nashville Parthenon--Architecture Tour--February 15
Tennessee Historical Society--Tennessee 101: Tennessee Women in the Progressive Era: Shifting Perceptions (online)--February 22
National Trust for Historic Preservation--Historic Preservation Advocacy Requests in 2022--February 24
Metro Historic Zoning Commission--Contractor Class--February 24
The Hermitage--Black History Month Memorial--February 26
Historic Travellers Rest--Landscape of Enslavement Guided Grounds Tours--February 26
Frist Art Museum--A Landmark Repurposed: From Post Office to Art Museum--thru February 27
Belle Meade Historic Site & Winery--Journey to Jubilee tour--multiple dates
Cheekwood Estate & Gardens--Spanning the Atlantic: The Arts and Crafts Movement--thru April 10
Metro Historical Commission Foundation Annual Fundraiser: "Roaring Back with Music and History at Fisk"--March 3
Tennessee Central Railway Museum--Mardi Gras Excursion--March 5
National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week 2022 (virtual)--March 7-10
Historic Travellers Rest--Fancy and Functional at Travellers Rest--March 26
Buchanan Log House--2022 Family Festival & Arts & Crafts Fair--May 21
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