Did you attend Flagg Grove School?

Flagg Grove School is currently being restored at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, Tennessee.

Did you attend Flagg Grove School in the northwest area of Haywood County near Nutbush and Ripley? If so, we would like to talk with you and document your stories about the school and what it was like to attend there.

The Center is also seeking items from the school including pictures of the school, class pictures, old school books, school and PTA programs, and any other items relating to the school.

Flagg Grove School is currently being restored and stories and items collected will help tell the story of the school and the students who attended. 

It will also house memorabilia from its most famous student, Anna Mae Bullock, known worldwide as Tina Turner.

If you attended or  have information related to the school, please contact us at 731-779-9000 or email info@westtnheritage.com.

Tina Turner graces the cover of German Vogue

 Haywood County's most famous native, Anna Mae Bullock, known worldwide as Tina Turner, is the oldest woman to grace the cover of Vogue Magazine.  Turner, who turned 73 in November, is featured on the cover of the April 2013 issue of German Vogue.

According to the magazine's interview, Turner talks about her hometown of Nutbush and the Flagg Grove School project.

"We are so excited that Ms. Turner mentions her involvement with the Flagg Grove School project," said West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center Director Sonia Outlaw-Clark. "She speaks of the beauty of the farmland around Nutbush and remembers walking to Flagg Grove School with her sister and classmates."

The school's restoration project began in June 2012 when the school was donated and moved to the Delta Heritage Center. According to Clark, the project could take up to three years to complete.

Once completed, the school will highlight African-American early education and the legacy of students who attended there.  The school was built in 1889 on land donated by Benjamin Flagg, Turner's great-uncle, making Flagg Grove school not only the school she attended but a part of her family's legacy.  Turner's involvement with the project will include memorabilia and displays once the building has been restored.

As the project moves forward, it will be dependent on public fundraising efforts. Since the Vogue article appeared, fans have begun making donations through a link on the Center's website.

Tina Turner's Assistant Visits Brownsville

Rhonda Graam in front of Flagg Grove School.

We've had some exciting things going on at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center this year. Among them is a very special visit by Tina Turner's assistant, Rhonda Graam. Rhonda spent a week with us hearing about the Center and the restoration efforts of Flagg Grove School. She met with local official and others involved in the project.

We also spent a few days touring Nutbush and Ripley and "tromping" around in cemeteries where Tina's ancestors are buried. (Did I mention it was the middle of January and COLD?) We had some great adventures and lots of fun.

This was Rhonda's first time to visit the area even though she has been with Tina since 1964. We were so glad to show her around and share our community with her.

One of the highlights was a visit with a couple of sisters who remembered going to school with Tina at Flagg Grove and Carver High School. It was amazing to sit around the kitchen table and hear these stories. The only thing missing was Tina. I could just imagine her sitting there engaged in the conversation; laughing and remembering all those crazy days of childhood. (Still can't believe I did not get a picture. I was so engrossed in their stories that I simply didn't think about snapping a picture.)

We're also appreciative to all those who changed their schedules and made time to talk with Rhonda. Since our visit, Rhonda has let us know that Tina is "thrilled with the information" that she gathered and with Rhonda's explorations while in Brownsville.

As we move forward with the Flagg Grove project, I hope that Rhonda will visit again and especially when we are ready to dedicate the school. In the meantime, we'll stay in touch and keep her posted of our progress.

Make a secure donation to the Flagg Grove School Project.

Billy King and Rhonda Graam exploring Browns Creek Cemetery. 

This picture is dark and grainy, but I hope you can tell that everyone enjoyed meeting Rhonda and lunch at Lilies. Pictured are (front row, from left) Vice Mayor, and one of Tina's best high school friends, Carolyn Flagg, Rhonda Graam and Sonia Outlaw-Clark; (back row, from left) D.A. Eaton, Billy King, Brownsville Mayor Jo Matherne and Joe and Pam Stephens.

Flagg Grove School moves to West TN Delta Heritage Center

It's been an exciting two weeks here at the Center. First with the 2nd Annual Exit 56 Blues Fest last week (pictures posted soon)  and now this week we've moved the Flagg Grove School.

The one-room school was previously located in Nutbush, yes... the real Nutbush that Tina Turner sings about. As a matter of fact, she attended Flagg Grove School. To add to the history of the school, her great uncle, Benjamin Flagg, sold the land to the school's trustees for $25 an acre. I understand the going price at that time (1889) was $75 an acre. The school closed in 1968 and had been used as a barn since that time.

It's a journey that began several months ago and yesterday the school finally made it to our Center and now sits beside the home of Bluesman "Sleepy" John Estes. While the size of the school kind of dwarfs Sleepy John's, we are very proud of this addition to the collection and look forward to highlighting early education in Haywood County and, of course, the fantastic singing career of Tina Turner.

Here's a few photos of the school's journey.

Inside the School

A few desk and benches were still in the school. Notice the stage in the background. You just know Tina had to have sung on that stage at some time during her school days there.

Bracing the building for the move.

Positioning the skids.

Ready to go! Pulling out from the field on Elm Tree Road.

Traveling down Highway 19, aka Tina Turner Highway

Navigating the power lines on Anderson ... almost there.

Welcome! Just a little ways more....

It's here ... sitting beside the Sleepy John Estes home on the grounds of the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center.

As you can see from the pictures, there is some restoration work to be done. Tax deductible donations to help restore the school can be sent to:

Friends of the Delta Heritage Center

P.O. Box 1358

Brownsville, TN 38012

Flagg Grove School, childhood school of Tina Turner, to be saved and moved to the WT Delta Heritage Center

Owner Joe Stephens stands in front of the Flagg Grove School that will soon be moved to the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville. Plans for the school includes interpretive exhibits about African-American education as well as a Tina Turner exhibit.

We are so excited to announce that the Flagg Grove School, in the Nutbush community, will be saved and moved to the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center. Brownsville Mayor and Aldermen have voted to fund Phase 1 of the project that includes moving the school. Once at the Center, the school will be restored and become a part of the Center's permanent exhibits.

The one room school  is one of only a few remaining African-American schoolhouses in Haywood County which gives it significant historical value ... and it can be tied directly to Tina Turner's ancestry. The land for the school was bought from Benjamin Flagg in 1889. Flagg was a former slave who came from North Carolina after the Civil War. He was also the brother of George Flagg, Turner's great-grandfather. Tina Turner attended this school while growing up in Nutbush.

The building, along with other artifacts found in the school, is being donated to the Center by local restaurateurs Pam and Joe Stephens. "Pam and I wanted to save the building," says Stephens. "It's an important piece of Haywood County history." The building has been owned by the Stephens family since the late 60s.

Regarding the efforts to save the school and open it to the public, Tina Turner commented: " I'm pleased to know that children from around the world, who stop at the Visitor's Center in Brownsville, will be able to visualize what it was like growing up during the era of my childhood."

While the City will fund the initial move, the preservation work will continue through fundraising ­­efforts of the Friends of the Delta Heritage Center; a non-profit group who supports the work of the Center. Anyone wishing to help with these efforts can contact the Center at 731-779-9000, or donations can be made payable to the Friends of the Center, 121 Sunny Hill Cove, Brownsville, TN 38012.