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MHC News
We apologize for the delay on the July History Gram. This delay was due to a staff member contracting COVID-19, so it's clear that this virus is still making its rounds. We hope everyone stays safe and healthy!
The 22nd Memorial Day Dash on Monday, May 30th was a great success! Nearly three hundred runners came out for the race, which raises money to support the promotion, preservation, and ongoing restoration efforts at the cemetery. MHZC staff member Sean Alexander assists the Nashville City Cemetery Association’s (NCCA) race committee in coordinating permits and logistics for the event. Many thanks to the NCCA for their ongoing work to support the preservation of this Metro-owned site! For information on the City Cemetery, programs of the NCCA, and historical research including maps and interment records, check out the NCCA website!
Staff have recently fielded numerous research inquiries, including those for 114 2nd Ave South, Hudson Cemetery, Renraw, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church (1622 Rosa L Parks Blvd), and the Nightingale Cemetery on Winston Avenue.
In tandem with Graham Perry, Cemetery Specialist from the Tennessee Historical Commission, staff also recently visited the Spring Hill Cemetery at the behest of a community member who expressed concern for a poorly-marked African American section of the property where markers are largely missing or damaged. We provided the owners with information about cemetery preservation and assisted with planning for some damage that occurred due to a nearby, since-removed homeless encampment. Spring Hill Cemetery ownership has expressed support of further research and documentation of this part of the site.
MHZC News
The MHZC’s next public hearing will be held on Wednesday, July 20th at 2:00 p.m. at Sonny West Conference Center. View the MHZC meeting schedule and application deadlines on our website. Access archived videos of the MHZC meetings on the Metro YouTube channel anytime!
There is now an option for reporting potential violations of the design guidelines in Nashville's historic overlays using hubNashville. This site is a great source of public information and a place where concerns can be noted. Simply navigate to the "Permits" section of hubNashville and select "Report Violation of Historic Zoning Permits" to initiate a report on violations in local historic districts.
![[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 frequent historical marker inquiries and applications. We are currently working with applicants on draft text for markers on Bettie Page, the Enchanted Hills neighborhood in Northwest Nashville, Woodcuts Gallery on Jefferson Street, Tennessee State University coach Ed Temple, the Germantown neighborhood, Hank Snow's Rainbow Ranch, and the Merritt House in Wedgewood-Houston.
The next scheduled marker ceremony will be for Vanderbilt Dudley Field and will take place on Saturday, September 3rd. Watch our newsletter and social media for updates on the dedication details!
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On July 14th, the Bordeaux branch library will host "Genealogy 101: Birth, Marriage & Death Records," where participants will learn how to use FamilySearch and HeritageQuest to search Vital Records.
The Tennessean is proud to announce its partnership with Nashville Public Library, Tennessee State Library and Archives and their readers on a unique project called "Nashville Memories: A Pictorial History of the Early Years." Please bring your photos to one of three scanning sessions - and be sure to check out the submission guidelines. Please fill out our simple photo submission form (one per photo) prior to the session."Nashville Memories: A Pictorial History of the Early Years" will be held at the Bordeaux (10:30 a.m.) and Hadley Park (2:30 p.m.) branch libraries on Saturday, July 23rd and at the Donelson (4:30 p.m.) branch library on Monday, July 25th.
Check out Metro Archives Program Coordinator Sarah Arntz's latest community history blog, "Bombardment From the Clouds!," which details several incidents of lightening-related incidents and the Nashville Signal Service office.
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A sculpture commemorating Juneteenth will soon grace the grounds of Metro Parks Centennial Art Center. Path to a Higher Note depicts a boy and a girl standing atop a base made from the quilt block designs used to send messages to anyone traveling along the Underground Railroad. Each child wears clothing featuring Adinkra symbols to acknowledge their African heritage. The Parks' Board and the Metro Arts Commission approved the acquisition of the sculpture created by the Nashville-based mosaic artist Betty Turney-Turner and hundreds of community participants.
The Parthenon at Centennial Park presents "The Odyssey: A Retelling," an exhibition by Lisa Bachman Jones in the museum's East Gallery. Jones is a Nashville-based artist interested in entropy and interconnectivity. Working across disciplines, she investigates "the every day through a lens of care." The exhibit is on display through
January 8th, 2023.
Image credit: Path to a Higher Note sculpture, credit Metro Parks.
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The Fort Negley Master Plan is almost ready for its debut. After holding meetings with stakeholders over several months, the last public engagement meeting was held on June 30th. Attendees were presented with the nearly finalized plan and had an opportunity to comment and pose questions to the planning and design team.
A major rehabilitation of some of the most severely deteriorated sections of the historic stone walls is underway, most notably the sally port and the north wall of the fort. MHC staff is working closely with Metro Parks to oversee the work, which is being performed by The Tradesmen Group out of Plain City, Ohio. Work is expected to continue throughout the summer.
Check out the following events happening at Fort Negley this month!
Guided Tour: Saturday, July 16th at 9:30 a.m.
Nashville Civil War Roundtable--July 21st at 7:00 p.m.
In early June, MHC and MHZC staff initiated field survey with consultants from local cultural resources firm New South Associates to document and assess conditions at Nashville's historical cemeteries. This project serves as an update to the original Davidson County Cemetery Survey completed c. 1999-2000, which resulted in the documentation of over 600 historic burial grounds. Our teams have met with property owners and community leaders to ensure that we are capturing as many extant sites as possible. The survey aims to confirm boundaries, document extant features, and ascertain maintenance and repair needs for these sites. This work is part of a multi-phase survey project that will culminate in the creation of a countywide cemetery preservation plan, the first county-level plan of its kind in Tennessee. Survey during the initial phase has been focused on the Southeast community subarea, including Cane Ridge and Antioch, where development pressures (and threats to historic cemeteries) abound. We have also surveyed sites in North, South, and East Nashville. Subsequent phases will pick up survey in other parts of the county, including "new" sites that may be discovered through our outreach efforts. This project is funded under a grant contract with the State of Tennessee.
On Tuesday, July 26th, we will hold a community meeting at Cane Ridge Community Club (6043 Cane Ridge Rd.) to discuss the background, goals, and approach of this important project. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the meeting begins at 6:30. We'll be joined by Tennessee Historical Commission Cemetery Specialist Graham Perry, who will discuss basic cemetery laws and cemetery preservation treatments. This is also an opportunity for members of the public to share locations and/or information about sites that may not have been previously documented.
For questions about the grant project or community meeting, please contact Caroline Eller at (615) 862-7970 x 79780 or email Caroline.Eller@nashville.gov.
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Staff is on the committee orchestrating the Second Annual Rep. John Lewis Way March ("See Something--Say Something") that is being led by Council Member Zulfat Suara and State Senator Brenda Gilmore. The March will be held on Saturday, July 23rd at 8:00 a.m. and begin at the intersection of Jefferson Street and Rep. John Lewis Way North (formerly 5th Avenue), ending at the historic Ryman Auditorium.
Volunteers are needed for the event--contact the MHC at (615) 862-7970 if interested. The event will feature music, calls to action, Civil Rights icons, and a continental breakfast (while it lasts). We hope to see you there!
Image credit: John Lewis speaking at a meeting of American Society of Newspaper Editors, Statler Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C., 1964, courtesy Library of Congress.
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The new Athens of the South driving tour launched last month, and the Civil Rights driving tour—narrated by MHC Commissioner Linda Wynn—should launch this month. In June, Nashville Sites paired with Nashville Queer History to staff a booth at this year's Nashville Pride Festival, where they handed out new merch and shared with attendees about a current National Trust for Historic Preservation grant-funded project to document LGBTQ+ sites across Davidson County. They also attended CMA Fest, Pride Night at Nashville SC, and the Nashville Sounds games to help build awareness of the grant project that will result in a new driving tour.
Nashville Sites is excited to introduce summer 2022 intern, Maia Roark (pictured at left)! Maia is a rising sophomore at Haverford College majoring in History and double-minoring in English and Art History. At Haverford, Maia spends her time playing badminton and writing for The Consensus, Haverford's satirical newspaper. This summer, she will help run Nashville Sites social media as well as develop metadata for upcoming tours. Maia is excited to explore Nashville's archives and learn more about the city's rich history!
Did you know that Nashville Sites has a new monthly newsletter? Keep up with all NS happenings by subscribing today!
Image credit: Maia Roark, courtesy Nashville Sites Instagram.
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Exciting preservation projects are underway at Historic Travellers Rest this summer! Recent work includes wood repair and re-painting of the frame portions of the house and porches. Thanks to the generosity of donors from the Big Payback this year as well as support from the Butler Snow Foundation, Daughters of the American Revolution, Henry Laird Smith Foundation, and Sandra Schatten Foundation, an initial phase of restorations on the historic smokehouse will also begin this July. Donations are now being accepted that will support a second phase of restorations on the smokehouse. If you would like to help fund phase II, please visit the TR donation page and specify that your contribution is for the smokehouse. Donations are tax deductible!
The site also recently unveiled a new database that helps to trace the lives of enslaved people associated with this significant Nashville property. In addition to an online component, there is a 45-minute tour of the home that highlights the lives of Judge John Overton and his family, information known about enslaved persons associated with the estate, and changes that happened post-Emancipation.
Historic Travellers Rest also offers a speaker for history groups, historical societies, church groups, book clubs, and others who wish to learn about the historic house museum. Please contact Director of Education and Outreach Andy Blair with speaker requests.
Image credit: smokehouse prior to restoration, courtesy Historic Travellers Rest.
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The National Historic Landmarks (NHL) Program of the National Park Service is pleased to announce the release of a new theme study, Labor History in the United States, which highlights the many stories of Americans at work through current scholarship on labor history and nationally significant places. The study is organized into chapters focusing on workers in agriculture, extraction industries (like mining or lumbering), manufacturing, transportation, and the service sector. The focus on occupational groups along with labor organizing highlights up-to-date research on a wide variety of working people.
Beyond discussion of existing and potential labor history National Historic Landmarks, the context here, and in other NHL theme studies, can also inform National Register of Historic Places nominations. The complete accessible PDF is available for download on the National Historic Landmarks Program website – Recent Theme Studies.
Nashville Parthenon--Sketching the Marbles--July 15
Friends of Warner Parks--Full Moon Pickin' Party--July 15
Tennessee Historical Society & Tennessee State Library & Archives--Discover Tennessee History Conference: Perspectives on Tennessee History--July 15-16
Friends of Shelby Park & Bottoms--Cornelia Fort Pickin' Party--July 16
National Trust for Historic Preservation--America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places 2022--July 18
Frist Art Museum--Film Screening (free): Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)--July 28
Two Rivers Mansion--Summer Mansion Tours--thru August 12; Fridays in July--Hip Donelson Farmers Market
Centennial Park--Big Band Dances--thru August 27
Historic Travellers Rest--Apprentice Camp--August 1-5
Vanderbilt University Dyer Observatory--Public Tour of Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory--August 9
Two Rivers Mansion--Tea at Two Rivers--August 13
Cheekwood Estate & Gardens--Black Arts Bash--August 20
Belmont Mansion--This Used to Be Nashville book signing with author Jim Hoobler--August 21
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