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Nashville / Community History

Nashville Fire Dept Fire Log from Medic 5

During the Main Library's closure, I'm delving into the Fire Dept. Collection, which includes fascinating fire log books. As I sift through these records, I'm uncovering that they reveal much more than just fire runs and hall operations—they are a treasure trove of important Nashville history. 

Photo of Jack Harding with the Pacific Ocean in the background

The tale of the first flight around the globe is filled with engaging and often eye-opening anecdotes. While we've included some in the exhibit at Metro Archives (on display until the beginning of October), there are plenty more to explore! Read a selection of them here.

Photo of the historic flight crew after they returned home

Didn't attend Metro Archives opening program for their current aviation exhibit? No worries, check out the recording of the program here! The exhibit is "Nashville's Magellan of the Air: 100th Anniversary of the First Flight to Circumnavigate the World". It runs through October 7th, 2024. 

Dr Bunch

Metro Archives' Fall Intern, Jamie Erwin, had the pleasure of processing a unique collection for her internship - the "Dr. Ray C. Bunch Collection". If we have any other doctors' collections in our repository, it wouldn't be as thorough and informative as this one. But I'll allow Jamie to tell you about Dr. Bunch and his family in her own words. 

Tennessean clipping of St. Louis NARA fire

July 12th of this year marked the 50th anniversary of one of the most devastating events to occur in the archives' world - the fire that broke out at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. If you're not familiar with this event, check out this post that discusses what happened and how the records in Metro Archives help make up for the damaged records. 

Sidney O'Berry Collection - State Capitol covered in snow in 1976

If you're dreaming of a white Christmas this year, you might get your wish. In Nashville? Yes! How common is that? Not very, according to our weather reports and news clippings. But here are the highlights from the few times it has occurred. 

I originally wrote this blog post for March, 2018, because for some unknown reason, genealogy research seems to pick up around the end of February through March. Well, the trend has occurred again during quarantine, and this time makes more sense - you're home and you figure, why not? For whatever reason, we welcome the frequency of usage of our genealogy records. Here's a list of our most helpful and commonly-used materials, and some other tips when doing family research, with a few new additions. UPDATED AGAIN IN 2022 WITH THE ADDITION OF ANCESTRY LIBRARY EDITION TO THE LIBRARY WEBSITE!

Scarritt-Bennett Center Collection - Celebration of Culture Festival

The semester is soon to wrap up, so Metro Archives is bringing you another cool blog post from our fall intern, Morgan Stence. Morgan processed the Scarritt Bennett Collection, primarily containing materials from the Celebration of Cultures Festival. Learn about it from her own words. 

A person wearing black fingerless gloves holds a cardboard cutout in the shape of a house

November 12-20 is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Listen to a couple of Nashville StoryCorps interviews, from a formerly unhoused person and an activist for the poor and unhoused.

Fire Company Number 4

October is Archives' Month - a month-long celebration of archivists and archival work. And this year's theme is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Fire Prevention Week. So "We didn't Start the Fire!", but we're helping prevent future ones from happening!

Unknown Green Hills home

One of the many services Metro Archives offers is property research, which can be a complicated process, so this blog post is here to provide some clarity of what's involved and how you can start the research on your own! And no, we can't tell you if your home is haunted, sorry. 

Portrait of Genevieve Baird Farris

This edition of the Metro Archives' intern blog post series comes to you from summer intern, Sabrina Austin, who processed the Genevieve Baird Farris Collection for her internship project. While processing, Sabrina learned about the strong affection the Harris family had for each other, as well as how active they were in Nashville social life. Learn about them from Sabrina herself!

1888 Sanborn Maps

The third week of June marks "Lightning Safety Awareness Week", and we just so happen to be transcribing more weather journals right now thanks to volunteers, so here are some excerpts from these journals that highlight some of the various "electrical events" in Nashville's past. 

Military portrait of Bernard Sanderson

This blog post comes to you from Metro Archives' intern, Sami Olesen, who processed the Bernard Sanderson Collection for her internship project. While processing the collection, she learned that Bernard Sanderson led quite an eventful life. But don't listen to me - let Sami tell you his story. 

Tennessean clipping from May, 1950

On Friday, April 1st, 2022, the 1950 U.S. Census records were released, and that provides a lot of new information for anyone researching their family. This set came with some new ways to search as well, which also comes with some bumps in the road, so here are some helpful tips of how to conduct your research. 

Emancipation Records for James Hendricks

Of the various projects that we work on in Metro Archives, the Nashville Enslaved and Free People of Color Database is one we started several years ago, and are still actively adding to. If you're interested in learning more about what the database includes and how to use it, please read on. 

Nashville City Cemetery

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of Nashville's oldest continuously-operated public cemetery - the Nashville City Cemetery. Nestled quaintly on the northeast side of Fort Negley and just off 4th Ave S, the cemetery might seem like only a quiet piece of Nashville's history, with only the graves of many Nashvillians. But if it could speak, it would have many interesting anecdotes to tell.

Listing for W.T. Berry & Co. in 1859

Bookstores tend to be a popular shopping spot during the holidays, especially some of our local businesses such as Parnassus and Elder's Bookstore. But has that ever made you curious about the history of Nashville's local bookstores? Archives' Intern Sapphire is here to fill you in on a little literary history. 

Evidence tag from the weapon shot by Jake Rader

Nashville is not a city that lacks in stories of feuds and strange murder cases, and I'm bringing you another one just in time for Halloween. It involves a business rivalry gone bad, from our recently-indexed Criminal Court Case Files. 

 

View of Archives front doors

October is not only the month of pumpkin spice, ghosts, and candy corn...it's also Archives' Month! That means it's the month that we honor the work of all archivists, and work to raise awareness of the importance of historical documents and records. So, in celebration of this fun-filled month, here's a little behind-the-scenes peak at Metro Archives and their staff. 

Page from Newsweek magazine, from September 2001

This is part II in the series commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 9/11/2001 attacks. This post continues with more library staff memories of that day. 

Photo of 9/11 Memorial in NYC

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and to remember all those lost due to that day's tragic events, this post takes a look back at that day through the eyes of several Library staff members, and a few other unique perspectives. 

Can you believe it?! The downtown library has called Church Street home for 20 years now! Let's take a look back at the history of the downtown library, and how it came to call 615 Church Street home. 

From Metro Archives Photos - Metro Council member, Thelma Harper

The world lost an extraordinary woman on April 22nd, 2021, when former State Senator Thelma Harper passed away. After making history by becoming the first African American female elected to the State Senate, her work of shattering ceilings was far from over. Here's a look back at her impressive career and generous life. 

From City Beautiful Scrapbook in 1956 - Ford Green Elementary students with anti-litter signs

Keeping the streets, rivers, and neighborhoods clean in this city over the years hasn't been easy, but one of the ways was with the City Beautiful Commission, that was established in 1953. In honor of Earth Day, here's a look at the commission that helped clean up the streets and neighborhoods in Nashville. 

View of Market Street

2020 went out with an unfortunate bang in Nashville, when on Christmas morning, a Nashville resident blew up his RV on 2nd Ave N. As a dedication to the individuals and businesses impacted, here's a look back at the history of 2nd Ave. This is 2-part series, part I covering 19th century Market Street and part II covering 20th Century 2nd Ave.  

Colonel George H. Morgan received the nation's highest military honor and went on to teach at Hume-Fogg High School in 1924-1925.

Tennessean photo from 2003 when the bears were being cleaned

Most citizens of this city that have lived here for a few years know what I'm referring to when I say the "Edgehill Polar Bears", but do you know the history of them? Well here are the "bear" necessities.

New Era clipping from April 7th, 1870 in celebration of the ratification of the 15th Amendment

The phrase "voting rights" encompasses a LOT of history, even when narrowed to the history of voting rights in Tennessee. While I wish I could write a blog post that includes all the important gains and struggles of voting rights in this state, instead, I'm narrowing it to a few highlights, starting with noting the 150th anniversary of the 15th Amendment. 

James Estes' voter registration card, 1945

Since most of this year has seemed like an episode out of a sci-fi novel, and it's not lost on anyone that we're living through a major historical event, here are some suggestions of important things you might consider keeping for posterity's sake. 

Sign advertising the construction of the Municipal Auditorium

While September is normally my month for educational posts, I'm bypassing that this year for something different - new images and footage! As a continuation from a previous post with old photos, this post includes a slideshow of a collection I've been processing the past few weeks, plus some new footage from our Audiovisual Heritage Center. 

Ad from the Nashville Globe newspaper for Dr. Josie E. Wells

Since we're closed, here's a virtual tour of Metro Archives' current exhibit of "Nashville Voices - 36 Notable Women of Nashville", as it's finished right now. And discussing one of the recently added women in the display - Dr. Josie E. Wells...maybe a couple more individuals as I continue working

This month's Nashville history post is letting photography do the talking, with a variety of slideshows for all to enjoy. Starting with a tribute to all medical workers for their dedicated service during these trying times, to finishing with a little more of "Some Good News - Archives Edition." 

With the extra time on our hands after a month of quarantine, maybe there are other things we can spend our time on, like preserving family ephemera. This is an assisted blog post from my coworker, Christine Irizarry, who writes about the importance of family letters. And the latter part talks about preserving your family records. 

With the changing times and means to educate while schools are closed, it can be difficult for parents-now-turned-teachers to homeschool on such short notice, and possibly without a lot of resources. That's where Metro Archives and the Library come in handy. And who says educating can't be fun? So here's a word search I created with words and names pertaining to the founding of the city of Nashville. 

Borrowing John Krasinski's idea of reporting "Some Good News" during these troubling times, here are some historic news clippings from past pandemics or epidemics that have affected Nashville. But instead of including news articles about the actual devastation from the illnesses, these are more positive stories during the same time frame or at least examples of positives from the desolation.  

Soooo this year has started off rather interestingly...and by interesting I mean NOT GREAT, so far. So instead of writing a whole bunch of historic info, I'm just giving you all photos this month. These are some of my favorites from our collection that I hope may bring a smile to some of your faces. 

In honor of African American History Month, and to highlight a few individuals in Metro Archives' new display on Nashville women, this blog post is dedicated to a few notable women of Music City.

2020 is an important anniversary year for a couple of reasons. Most notably is the 19th Amendment, which we'll be celebrating with a new permanent exhibit in Special Collections (in addition to a few other temporary exhibits in the building). But another important Amendment went into effect 100 years ago this month that had a long-lasting impact on the country, and that's Prohibition.

This time of year may mostly be associated with the various holidays we celebrate, but it's also well-associated with cold, awful weather (except for these past few weeks) and keeping ourselves warm with our HVAC systems. However, there was a time in Nashville's past that staying warm also meant being covered in soot as well. 

September of this year has come and gone, and so has 50 years since the release of the The Beatleslast and arguably most iconic album, Abbey Road. Read a little about the history of the album and about The Beatles in Nashville (separately unfortunately, never together). 

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. In honor of that momentous occasion, Metro Archives recently had an exhibit highlighting Nashville's impact on space exploration. Here are a few things included in the exhibit! 

As part 1 of a 3-part series about the local photography institution that is Dury's, and also in honor of National Photography Month, read about how one of Nashville's oldest businesses got its start and has remained a successful and beloved business in Nashville all of these years. 

This spring, as we read the 2019 Nashville Reads book Hidden Figures, and reimagine our country’s history together, there’s no better place than Nashville Public Library to explore the "hidden figures" in our own local history. Dr. Margaret Rhea Seddon is one of these local hidden figures with an incredible story about reaching the stars.

It's the month of love (well the end of it, but close enough) and therefore that also sometimes means heartbreak, so check out this unfortunate story from Nashville's past (about 90 years ago), about a love affair gone horribly wrong. 

Welcome to the seventh post in Nashville Metro Archives’ Audiovisual Conservation Center’s film preservation mini-series. In this series we’re telling the story of our project to conserve and identify hundreds of previously hidden gems in our film collection. These works document the history and culture of the South and range in date from the 1920’s to the 1990’s.

Welcome to the sixth post in Nashville Metro Archives’ Audiovisual Conservation Center’s blog mini-series about film preservation. Throughout this series we have taken you through the process of identifying, conserving, and rehousing over 400 rare and unique films from our collection. In this post we will highlight the content of one of our larger film collections. Thanks for joining us!

Exploring the holdings of Main Library’s Special Collections, I stumbled upon a local figure I hadn’t heard of before—Robert Churchwell. Hired by the Nashville Banner in 1950, Churchwell was the first black journalist and full-time reporter for a Southern newspaper.

Welcome to the fifth post in Nashville Metro Archives’ Audiovisual Conservation Center’s blog mini-series! In this series, you are invited in for a behind-the-scenes look at our year-long project to conserve and catalog the archive’s rare and unique film collection.

This Veteran's Day marks the 100th Anniversary of the signing of the Armistice between the Allied Countries and Germany, ending the hostilities on the Western Front of the War and officially beginning the end of World War I. 

Anyone that's ever walked down Charlotte Ave, right next to the Capitol, is familar with the statues surrounding its borders (or maybe you're not, that's possible too). But if you are, Sam Davis is on the southwest corner and Sgt. Alvin C. York is on the southeast. But are you familiar with who's standing in the middle, somewhat leering over all who walk beneath him? Or better yet, why he's there?

It’s here! It’s here! The wait is finally over. Our new equipment has been unboxed and put together!

This is post #4 in our series documenting the Metro Archives’ Audiovisual Conservation Center’s Film Conservation Project, and boy are we pumped to share the details of our new film inspecting equipment!

Welcome to Post #2 in our series documenting the Metro Archives’ Audiovisual Conservation Center’s Film Conservation Project. Over the next few months, we are engaged in an exciting project to conserve and identify over 400 rare and unique vintage films in the Metro Archives collection. This work will form the foundation for preservation of and access to our collection.

The Metro Archives’ Audiovisual Conservation Center is located at the Main Library in downtown Nashville. We're hosting a new series on the blog documenting our latest project to identify and perform conservation on over 400 rare and unique films from our collection. Welcome to our corner! We hope you’ll follow along with us!

2018 is a landmark anniversary year for many events, including the worst train accident in U.S. history that occurred at Dutchman's Curve in West Nashville, on Tuesday, July 9th, 1918. 

Last month marked the 50th anniversary of the murder of W. Haynie Gourley, the owner of Capitol Chevrolet on Murfreesboro Rd. Today, this tragedy remains as one of Nashville's most notorious unsolved crimes.

It's been 50 years this month since the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., yet his actions and teachings have lived on every day since. Coincidentally, the date of his actual birthday this year was celebrated on the same day of the holiday honoring him. In honor of his legacy, here's a look back at how his work affected Nashville...

In honor of African American History Month (and also the month of love), I'm honoring a local Nashville citizen and veteran, Raymond Whittaker, from the small collection of his correspondence, ephemera, and photos we have here in Archives. 

Who loves talking about the weather?! Me, that's who! Did you know the early beginnings of the National Weather Service was actually under the U.S. Army in what was called the Signal Service? Actually it's not that surprising, but what might be is that here in Metro Archives, we have several of their original journals from the Nashville station. Read on if you're intrigued...

 

Most people recognize Nashville as the "Music City" capital of the world, but can you say that you've ever heard its other nickname - "the Powder City of the World"? If you're familiar with the history of the Old Hickory community and the company of DuPont, you probably have. If not, read on. 

Though November marks the last month of his life, May of this year would have marked JFK's 100th birthday; May 29th to be exact. In honor of this milestone, here's a look back at a few of President Kennedy's visits to Nashville, as well as a few anecdotes from people that remember the day he died.

If the name "Paula Herring" sounds familiar to you, then you already know where this blog post is going. But if not, keep reading. I'm about to tell the gruesome tale of young Paula's murder back in 1964, from the info provided by Michael Bishop in his new book, A Murder in Music City: Corruption, Scandal, and the Framing of an Innocent Man.   

Nashville Public Library is excited to help celebrate the 125th anniversary of Ryman Auditorium and host Ryman Auditorium: Soul of Nashville, a brand new art exhibit exploring the iconic venue’s rich history. The exhibit is on display at NPL’s Main Library downtown from October 21 through February 25. 

Going on 60 years ago, Nashville followed suit with the landmark 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education, and began a "stair-step" plan to integrate public schools. But it wasn't without difficulty or a strong pushback.

As the country collectively experienced the first total eclipse in many, many years on Mondayhere's a look back at previous eclipses that Nashville has experienced.

Nashville is a city with an easily forgettable past, or rather people would prefer to forget its past. But that doesn't change the fact that it has a rather macabre and peculiar one. In Brian Allison's recently published book "Murder & Mayhem in Nashville," he highlights some of the more gruesome tales from Nashville's past.

Prior to the opening of the Nashville Zoo in Cheatham County, in 1991, the city came close to purchasing animals for a zoo around the time the Metro Government formed (1963). I recently stumbled upon this intriguing story and thought it was too good not to share. 

June 1, 1796 was the birth year for Tennessee as a state. Feels like it was just yesterday. In honor of its many years since, here's a brief recap of its birth and how the state chose to celebrate each of its earned centennials. 

Nashville may be known as Music City, but we also LOVE our professional sports – whether the boys have sticks, bats, or footballs, fans will turn out to cheer on our local teams.

The one thing that I love to tell people about when they visit Metro Archives, is that we're more than simply a repository for city-wide governmental records. Yes, the records we have are archaic in nature and therefore highly informative and fascinating. But it's the photographs we also have from around the city that are most-telling about the city's past. In honor of National Photography month, check out some of the best photos from around our beloved city.

Though its expansive campus can be seen from the fast lanes of I-65 S just past Armory Lane, Father Ryan High School hasn't always called their Norwood Drive location home. On top of possessing photographs of the previous location's building and demolition in our clippings' file on the school, Metro Archives also holds several other treasures that easily tell stories about the school's past.  

Considering how in our modern day and age, seeing (and hearing) airplanes regularly cross Nashville's skies does not appear to make us think twice, doesn't it make you wonder what life must have been like when the first forms of flight were being tested? I suppose to us, it would literally be like seeing pigs fly. Almost. Well Metro Archives is attempting to answer that question. Starting March 28th and running through May 31st, there will an exhibit in Metro Archives highlighting the advancement of aviation technology as Nashville experienced it.  

In honor of African American History Month, I'm recognizing the first African American woman elected to the Tennessee State Senate—Senator Thelma Harper of District 19. Prior to her 1991 historic election to the State Senate, Harper served 8 years on Davidson County's Metro Council.  

Hard to believe it's been 18 years since the Titans first game in their new home and in their new jerseys. Throughout many seasons, players, and a couple of coaches, the team has remained a hometown favorite (well, in my opinion - my favorite) and that includes its stadium. 20 years ago this May (2017), construction began on the field that was initially crowned "Adelphia Coliseum." Would you believe Metro Archives has several photographs taken of the construction process? If you enjoy a little Titans nostalgia like I do, check out some of the best photos below. 

By the way, the title is in the tune of announcer Mike Keith proclaiming "TOUCHDOWN TITANS!" 

Tennessee stayed true to their nickname as the "volunteer state" after the attack on Pearl Harbor, that occured 75 years ago this month. Here are a few news clippings and photographs from the days after the attack.  

Though this was the first year that Metro Nashville Government closed for Veteran's Day, we've never neglected honoring the ever-important holiday. Check out some of the documents and memorabilia from Metro Archives.   

Metro Archives recently received a small donation of documents/photographs/clippings for a couple of local Nashville families' vertical files. The families that are related by marriage are the McClanahans and the Weakley - 2 families that I found after a little research, have prominent roots in Nashville. The photographs donated date to around the early 20th century and are without doubt, very remarkable. However, many came without a caption or any identifiers at all, and they're not all in Nashville. The families appeared to have traveled a lot. Can you help us out and help identify a few of these locations?  

The educational system in Nashville has changed quite a bit over the years, but the core subjects have always remained at the forefront of teaching. But with a few changes, would you have excelled if you had been in school about 100 years ago?

Did you know that Nashville has a history with the Olympics? It's not a big one mind you, but it exists. Today, we recognize the 1996 Olympics as the last Summer Olympics that any U.S. city hosted, and that was in Atlanta (Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics in 2002). But what about Nashville? A lot of people might think we're too small and don't have the infrastructure, but that wasn't the concern many years ago when Nashville put together a pretty strong campaign to host the 1996 Olympics. 

Everyone is familiar with the name and what they are most known for, but do you really know about the history of the American Red Cross? Specifically, the history of the local chapter of the American Red Cross. This is part two of their story (explained as brief as possible) discussing their involvement during the second world war and the many years after. 

The Red Cross is a storied and dedicated organization that spans decades, continents, wars, and various disasters. The American Red Cross was founded in 1881 by Clara Barton. And though the Nashville Chapter received their official charter in 1917, their relief work for local troops and citizens began long before then. In honor of their dedicated service, next month, Metro Archives will be exhibiting artifacts and documents from our American Red Cross collection. 

On March 22, 1916, a fire raged through East Nashville. By the end of day, more than 600 homes and businesses were destroyed by fire over 35 city blocks.

53 years ago, the government that Nashville now knows well as the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County was implemented, consolidating 2 separately-operating governments into one. Learn a little more about that consolidation process and how it has defined us as a city today.

I transferred to the Archives a month ago and I've been trying to learn all that I can about the Archives collections. One of the coolest collections I recently stumbled upon is the small collection we have for the Nashville College for Young Ladies. In honor of Women's History Month, what better topic to discuss than women's education?

This month's post is about the holiday season and some of the literary treats that accompany it, such as the classic Christmas tale A Christmas Carol.  It also includes instructions on creating ornaments from recycled Christmas Carols!

When two people got married in Nashville during the 19th century, it was not unusual for the officiant to write something like, “I hereby certify that I solemnized the rights of matrimony between the above named” on the back of the marriage certificate, and sign it. Some of these notes are wordy and elaborate, some are short and sweet. In the case of Justice of the Peace Willie Barrow, the notes also contained flashes of dry wit and sarcasm.

One of our most prized possessions at the Metro Archives is a rare cookbook compiled for the first Tennessee State Fair, held in Nashville at the fairgrounds in 1906. There are few of these left, and it's an artifact that marks a tradition that has been part of Nashville's history for over a century.

Watching the new movie Selma was like seeing Nashville's Civil Rights "All Stars": James Bevel, Diane Nash, C.T. Vivian, John Lewis, Bernard LaFayette are all depicted in the film.