 Congratulations to the first graduating class of the Citizens Historic Preservation Academy! Thank you to Mayor O’Connell for providing the opening address. The Citizens Historic Preservation Academy is an opportunity for Nashville residents to learn how they can participate in local preservation and the related benefits and resources.
Photo: Top row, left to right: Dia Hart, Nicholas Garvin, Erskine Lytle, Mayor O’Connell, Twana Chick, Fawn Fenton, Meg Hershey, Martha Stinson. Bottom row, left to right: Erin Myers, Kelli Gore, Jamie Pfeffer (Not pictured: Ed Branding, Amy Hardin, and Monchiere’ Holmes-Jones)
MHC News
The next Historical Commission public meeting will be held on Monday, November 20 at 12:00 p.m. at the Sonny West Conference Room, Howard Office Building, 700 President Ronald Reagan Way. You can find a full list of upcoming and previous MHC meetings on our website.
Nominations are now open for the 2024 Preservation Awards. Applications are due by Friday, March 1, 2024.
You are invited to a public gathering at First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill on Thursday, November 9 from 5:00-7:00pm, where we will present findings from the two-year-long Nashville Civil Rights Movement Documentation Project. The project documented over 120 historic buildings and places associated with the local movement through field survey and public engagement via an online survey and interviews with veterans of the Nashville Student Movement. This work was funded in part by an African American Civil Rights grant from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
Attendees of the public gathering will learn more about the Nashville Civil Rights Documentation Project and can provide feedback on the places, people, and stories that should be documented. The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided, and free parking is available at the church and in the adjacent state employee lot. The core part of the program will begin at 5:30pm and will include remarks from Rev. Kelly Miller Smith, Jr., Linda Wynn (Tennessee Historical Commission), and other speakers, followed by a presentation from Natalie Bell and Robbie D. Jones from Richard Grubb & Associates.
If you haven't already done so, you can complete our short online survey about the project here. Please send questions or comments to nashville@rgaincorporated.com.
|
MHZC News
The MHZC’s next public hearing will be held on Wednesday, November 15 at 2:00 p.m. at the Sonny West Conference Center, Howard Office Building, 700 President Ronald Regan Way. View the MHZC meeting schedule and application deadlines on our website. Access archived videos of the MHZC meetings on the Metro YouTube channel anytime!
This month, Bryan Gilley joins the Metro Historical Commission staff as Site Manager at the Nashville City Cemetery. Bryan earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Public Administration and History from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) and is currently enrolled in the history graduate program at MTSU. Bryan comes to us from Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage, where he served as Groundskeeper, Guest Services Lead, Lead Interpreter, Senior Interpreter, and Director of Interpretation over the course of his eight year career.
Bryan is a Nashville area native who developed his interest in cemeteries by accident. He inquired about cleaning a headstone that was meaningful to him at the Historic Beech Cemetery in Hendersonville, TN. This lead to a growing curiosity for cemetery preservation and a passion for the stories cemeteries tell. Bryan is currently a trustee for the Historic Beech Cemetery. Welcome Bryan!
|
Join the Metropolitan Historical Commission for "Nashville Music History," part of the Curb Lecture Series featuring Dr. Don Cusic. The second session of this series takes place on on November 15, 2023 and will focus on Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. The $10 per session registration fee supports the Metro Historical Commission Foundation and the work of the Metro Historical Commission. Space is limited - register today! Free parking available onsite at RCA Studio B. |
|
 |
Don't forget about the Centennial Park weekly History Tours and monthly Architecture Tours.
Learn about living history at Fort Negley on November 3-4. Join reenactors from the 10th Illinois Infantry, co. H for living history encampments, info on women in the Civil War, weapons demonstrations and display, and a haversack station.
Honor the 2771 enslaved, contraband, self-emancipated, and free Black Americans who built Fort Negley by placing flags at the entrance to the park on November 4.
Join the Nashville History Club on November 7 at Fort Negley to hear from author Wayne Moore present Immigrants, Incarcerated, and Enslaved: The Builders of TN State Capitol.
Learn about archaeology in Scotland at the Parthenon Symposium Saving Heritage from the Sea: The Communities Working to Rescue Scotland's History on November 8 (RSVP required).
Take a special Veteran's Day tour of Fort Negley with Friends of Fort Negley board member Dr. Angela Sutton on November 11.
Discuss Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad with the Archaeological Institute of America- Nashville Society book club on November 13 at The Parthenon.
Celebrate the legacy of basketball player Perry Wallace with the Nashville History Club on November 14 at Fort Negley with author Andrew Maraniss presenting Perry Wallace: Game Changer.
Attend the 4th Annual Holiday Market at the Mansion at Two Rivers Mansion on November 17-18 to shop with local artisans and vendors. This event is sponsored by the Donelson Hermitage Chamber of Commerce.
Hear from Dr. Minoa Uffelman, Austin Peay University professor and historian, as she presents Sarah Kennedy Letters: A Clarksville Woman Looks at Her Civil War at the Civil War Roundtable at Fort Negley on November 21.
On Wednesday, November 1, Vanderbilt University presents Then and Now: The History of Nashville's Jewish Community at the Main Library (615 Church Street).
Stop by the Courtyard Gallery at the Main Library to see "Monumental: Photographs of Vanderbilt Women's Basketball from the Nashville Banner Archives".
Metro Archives (on the 3rd floor of the Main Library) presents The Kurdish Home Movie Preservation Project, a project by the Audiovisual Heritage Center that offered free digitization of home movies for Kurdish families in Nashville. The project was part of the 2021 Archives Artist in Residence (AIR) Program, and the 2021 AIR was artist Beizar Aradiani.
Everyone is welcome to attend a behind-the-scenes tour of the Main Library with the Nashville Public Library Foundation on November 29 at 9:15 am.
By Jan King, Friends of Central State Hospital Cemetery Founder (Grandfather Rufus Smith buried in Central State Hospital Cemetery, 1933)
Central State Hospital Cemetery was a burial site for patients on the grounds of Central State Hospital off Murfreesboro and Donelson pike. The last patients were buried in this cemetery approximately 1940-1950. The hospital was moved in 1995 and the old buildings were demolished in 1999. The cemetery’s standing stones have been lost to time, weather, lawn maintenance, and other reasons.
Friends of Central State Hospital Cemetery was started in 2016 as a result of my personal search for my great grandfathers burial site. I was able to confirm his burial location from his death certificate as Central State Hospital Cemetery. However when searching for this cemetery it could not be found. Most of the Hospital land had been purchased by Dell Corporation in 1999-2000 for their new location.
Once it was established that the actual cemetery land was not sold and was still owned by the State of TN, our group started to meet with the Mental Health services at the state of TN to work toward restoration of cemetery site with a sign and access to the site for descendants. These meetings and work started in 2016. There have been many stops and starts to the plans for this site restoration. However, on Friday Sept 8 groups from Friends of Central State Hospital Cemetery, Metro Historical Commission, the Dept. of Mental Health-State of TN, General Services and GMC met at the site to discuss plans for renovating the cemetery and making it accessible. Land adjacent to the cemetery has recently been sold by the state creating funding that can be used for this project. FCSCH is very hopeful to see the completion of this project, fulfilling the goals of our group that the site will be accessible to family members and will provide a dignified resting place for our relatives.
|
Bellevue Harpeth Historic Association invites you to a free guided hike led by Ranger Sydni Starnes to Mace Bluff on November 11, 2023 site of the petroglyph on the bluff above the river. Please meet us at 1230 Cedar Hill Road (approximately twelve miles west of Bellevue on Highway 70, on the right) at 10:00 am and carpool to the site in Harpeth River State Park. You will need to bring water and hiking boots. It is not a long hike but there is climbing involved. Please call Nina Tackett at 615-828-5292 if you plan to attend, or if you have questions. After the hike, please join us for lunch at Jonathan’s Grille in Bellevue at 7653 Highway 70 S.
Historic Grizzard Cemetery--DAR sponsored cemetery clean up day (volunteers welcome!)--November 4
Travellers Rest--Landscape of Enslavement Tour--November 4
Andrew Jackson's Hermitage--Born For A Craft--November 4
Frist Art Museum--Frist Arts Fest Weekend Celebration--November 4-5
Andrew Jackson's Hermitage--Jackson's Library Card Virtual Book Club--November 7
TN Historical Society--Tennessee Talks: Session 11: From Dixie to Rocky Top: Music and Meaning in Southeastern Conference Football by Carrie Allen Tipton with Dr. Carole Bucy--November 8
TN Historical Society--Tennessee 101: The History of TN Music Session 12: The Development of the Chitlin' Circuit in Middle Tennessee and the Road to Popular Music (1860–1960)--November 8
Travellers Rest--Into The Wilderness Homeschool Day--November 10
Belmont Mansion--half-price admission for veterans and active military personnel--November 10-12
TN State Museum--Veterans Day Highlight Tour--November 11
TN State Museum--Lunch and Learn| Preserving the Landscape: Fort Cass and the Trail of Tears in Tennessee--November 16
Belle Meade Historic Site and Winery--Holiday Open House--November 16
Travellers Rest--Toddlers at TR-Harvest and Thanksgiving--November 18
Cheekwood Estate and Gardens--Holiday LIGHTS--starts November 18
National Museum of African American Music--Nissan Free Wednesday--free admission on the first Wednesday of each month courtesy of Nissan
Cheekwood Estate and Gardens--Thursday Night Out--each Thursday at 6:00 pm
Frist Art Museum--Architecture Tours--each Saturday from 3:30-4:30 pm
Tennessee State Museum--Museum Highlight Tours--each Saturday at 2:00 pm
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum--Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues--online exhibit
Check out our online newsletter archives!
Have a preservation-related event that you want us to include? Send a message to Jessica.Reeves@nashville.gov
|
