Becoming the Volunteer State exhibition opens at Delta Heritage Center December 19

The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, Brownsville, will host the Tennessee State Museum traveling exhibition "Becoming the Volunteer State: Tennessee in the War of 1812" Dec. 19 - Feb. 3, 2014. The exhibit commemorates the war's 200th anniversary and features artifacts, maps and an indepth exploration of the significant role of Tennessee and its people in this important chapter in history.  

Curator Myers Brown will lead a tour of the exhibition and answer questions at an opening reception Thursday, Dec. 19, beginning at 6 p.m. Brown is an Archivist with the Tennessee State Library and Chair of the Tennessee War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission.

After years of escalating tensions, the United States declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812, the war culminated with the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815. By the time the war was over several Tennesseans were beginning to emerge as important American figures, including Andrew Jackson, David Crockett, Sam Houston, Edmund Gaines (Act of Congress Medal winner), and Sequoyah.

Portrait of Andrew Jackson
by Ralph E. W. Earl, ca. 1837

The war in the south was waged predominately by Tennessee militia, volunteers, or regular army units raised in the state. So many Tennesseans volunteered for service that the state was soon known by the nickname, the “Volunteer State.” The victory at the Battle of New Orleans propelled Andrew Jackson to the White House and established Tennessee at the forefront of American politics.

Two notable events from the War of 1812 are forever etched in the collective consciousness of America’s heritage: the British burning of Washington, D.C. when First Lady Dolly Madison saved the portrait of George Washington before she fled the capital, and the writing of the “Star Spangled Banner” by attorney Francis Scott Key during the British attack of Ft. McHenry at Baltimore.

The Tennessee State Museum collaborated with other organizations to develop and produce the exhibition, including The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson, the State Library & Archives, and the Tennessee War of 1812 Bicentennial Committee. Important art, portraits, uniforms, weapons and period artifacts from the era, as well as a broad variety of documentary art, maps and illustrations have been selected to recreate a flavor of the times.

“Becoming the Volunteer State: Tennessee in the War of 1812” is an exhibition of the Tennessee State Museum in collaboration with the American Association of State and Local History. The exhibit’s statewide tour is supported in part by a grant from Humanities Tennessee, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Traveling Exhibit Commemorates 50th Anniversary of the Tennessee Sit-Ins

Student protesters sit-in at Walgreens on Fifth Avenue in Nashville, February 20, 1960.
Photo by Jimmy Ellis, courtesy of The Tennessean.

The landmark events that helped shape the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s are the focus of a traveling exhibition now open at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, Tenn.

The exhibit, entitled We Shall Not Be Moved: The 50^th Anniversary of Tennessee’s Civil Rights Sit-Ins continues through January 22, 2012, and is free to the public.

During the 1950s and 1960s, African Americans began mobilizing in a massive movement against segregation. This included non-violent, direct action campaigns, which culminated in sit-in demonstrations, economic boycotts, and marches.

Fifty years ago, a handful of Nashville college students from Fisk University, Tennessee A&I (later Tennessee State), and American Baptist Theological Seminary along with religious leaders Kelly Miller Smith and James Lawson, began a sit-in campaign targeting downtown lunch counters. These actions sparked the formation of a mass sit-in movement, which became the model used across Tennessee and the rest of the South.

These actions will be examined in this special exhibition, organized by the curatorial staff at the Tennessee State Museum.  The exhibit also looks at segregation in the state and how significant resistance developed in African American communities.

Although the sit-ins were organized as a non-violent action, occasionally students were met with violence from white bystanders, however it was usually the protesting students who were arrested and taken to jail. The exhibit examines why these students were willing to face possible violence and endure incarceration, and how their parents reacted.

The exhibit covers similar events which occurred in Chattanooga, Memphis and Knoxville and other locales.

Along with period photographs of these events, the exhibit includes such artifacts as signage, which has been preserved to show examples of segregation during this time.  Other important artifacts include a letter from a sit-in participant describing a protest and other items related to the sit-ins.

Hoofbeats in the Heartland opens August 24

 A cavalry and military commander in the war, Nathan Bedford Forrest is one of the war's most unusual figures. He was one of the few officers in either army to enlist as a private and be promoted to general officer and division commander by the end of the war.

 The traveling exhibition “Hoofbeats in the Heartland: Civil War Cavalry in Tennessee” will open at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, in Brownsville, Tenn., Wednesday, August 24. The exhibit is organized by the Tennessee State Museum and funded in part by a grant from the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area.

Hoofbeats in the Heartland will look at how Tennessee’s strategic location would make it a major battleground of the Western Theater. As both sides maneuvered, raided, fought, and occupied the state, nearly every community experienced the heavy hand of war. While few communities witnessed large battles, nearly every community experienced soldiers on horseback as part of a raiding force, occupying army, or as members of the numerous guerilla or partisan bands. 

The exhibition Hoofbeats in the Heartland will introduce the soldiers and the evolution of cavalry tactics in the Civil War. Visitors to the exhibit will meet the leaders such as Nathan Bedford Forrest and John Wilder and learn how their personalities affected the mounted warfare. Learn about the typical cavalry trooper, the nearly one million horses and mules that died during the Civil War and the mounted spies and scouts used to gain intelligence about the opposition.

Throughout the state both sides dealt with small bands of guerilla or partisan fighters mounted on horseback. These groups, some holding legitimate commissions from their respective governments, manifested in nearly every Tennessee county.

Visitors will also learn how the homefront sometimes became the frontlines and the role of the African-American troops. Significant battles will also be discussed including Fort Pillow in West Tennessee.

Hoofbeats in the Heartland will remain on display at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center until October 31. The Center is a tourist information center and three regional museums located off of Interstate 40 at Exit 56 in Brownsville. The Center is open seven days a week and is free to the public. For more information, call 731-779-9000 or visit www.westtnheritage.com.

NASA Traveling Exhibit to Visit Casey Jones Village

 A little bit of Mission Control will have lift-off in Jackson, Tenn., the weekend of May 14 - 15, as the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, brings  NASA’s Driven to Explore mobile exhibit to Casey Jones Home & Railroad Museum and Casey Jones Village  from 9 am to 7 pm each day.  Driven to Explore has no admission charge and is designed for all ages to enjoy. 

Driven to Explore is a mobile, multimedia experience showcasing NASA’s future plans for space exploration, including information on next-generation vehicles and the challenges associated with long term space travel. It immerses visitors in the story of NASA. The walking tour includes breathtaking imagery and audio and visual technology to connect guests with the space program.  

The Museum was chosen as the only site in West Tennessee due to the unique transportation connection of the railroads to space travel and amount of visitors Casey Jones Village enjoys each year.  NASA will be touring the exhibit through Tennessee during the month of May. 

Visitors will have the rare opportunity to touch a moon rock brought back by Apollo 17, the last manned mission to the moon in 1972. The moon rock is the centerpiece of the traveling exhibit and is one of the only seven lunar samples in the world made available for the public to touch and feel.

Casey Jones Home & Railroad Museum is located in Casey Jones Village in Jackson, Tennessee at 30 Casey Jones Lane.  It is dedicated to the life and legend of Casey Jones and Jackson railroading history.  For more information visit www.caseyjones.com. 

The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's center for human space flight  training, research and flight control. The Center consists of a complex of 100 buildings constructed on 1,620 acres in Houston, Texas.  Johnson Space Center is home to the United States astronaut  corps and is responsible for training astronauts from both the U.S. and its international partners. It is often popularly referred to by its central function, "Mission Control".  For more information visit www.nasa.gov.  

Staff & Volunteers Tour Smithsonian Exhibit

Over 20 staff and volunteers toured the Smithsonian Exhibit "Journey Stories" in Mercer, Tenn.

The Center's staff and volunteers were treated to a special viewing of the Smithsonian Exhibit "Journey Stories" Monday, February 28.

Mr. Billy telling stories on the way to Mercer.

Traveling by bus, we headed to Mercer compliments of the Big Black Creek Historical Association. Our tour guide was Mr. Billy King.

Mary, Marcina and Sandra

The exhibit traces our migration from the Native Americans to present day. What really makes this exhibit special is the companion pieces put together by the BBCHA and the fact that Mercer is the smallest venue a Smithsonian exhibit has been.

Nina, Kathy and Janet

The exhibit will be on display for public viewing on Fridays and Saturdays, 10-5; and Sunday, 2-5, through April 3.

Visit BBCHA website for more details:
http://www.bigblackcreekhistorical.com/1the_smithsonian_museums_traveling_exhibit_in_mercer_tn

Carolyn and Becky

The whole group enjoying the exhibit.

Beth, Landon and Bro. Tim

Bagels and Barbeque opening draws crowd



David Levy (left) and Fred Silverstein talk about their ancestors and how they came to Brownsville during the opening reception of “Bagels and Barbeque: The Jewish Experience in Tennessee” February 4, 2011. Levy is a descendant of the Felsenthal and Sternberger families. Silverstein is a descendent of the Tamm family. Both families operated businesses in Brownsville for many years.

“Bagels and Barbeque: The Jewish Experience in Tennessee” officially opened Friday, February 4, at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center with a reception hosted by First Friday Forum.

More than 60 attendees enjoyed sampling a combination of foods, including bagels and barbecue, while browsing the exhibit and learning more about the contributions the Jewish community has made to Tennessee since the early 1800s. The exhibit includes information and artifacts on loan from both the Brownsville and Jackson communities.

Dr. Candace Adelson, a senior curator with the Tennessee State Museum and coordinating curator of this exhibit, was on hand to share the purpose of the exhibit and some interesting facts of how the exhibit was put together.

David Levy and Fred Silverstein shared stories of their ancestors and how they came to settle in Brownsville. Jewish families such as the Tamms and Felsenthals owned many of Brownsville’s early businesses.

Dr. Pam Dennis, curator of the Jackson exhibit, shared the impact that the yellow fever epidemic had on both the Jackson and Brownsville Jewish community.

The exhibit will be on display until March 27 and is free to the public. First Friday Forum is a group of citizens who met on the first Friday of each month at Temple Adas Israel. The meeting includes a short service followed by a program and discussion of local interest.