The Tennessee State Museum is honored to present this
exhibit in partnership with the Tennessee General Assembly Arts
Caucus, Douglas Henry State Museum Commission, and Tennesseans
for the Arts. This exhibit, open from March 17 to August 29, 2010,
celebrates the treasures of the museum’s permanent collection.
The museum offers extensive historical exhibits for the
education and enjoyment of the public. Many exciting artifacts
made and used by Tennesseans during the past are on display.
These objects tell us about the struggles and achievements of our
forebearers and inspire today’s Tennesseans. The Tennessee State
Museum is a place where visitors can reflect on the past and plan
new and brighter futures.
In this exhibit, members of the Tennessee General Assembly
Arts Caucus have selected artifacts from the permanent collection.
They share thoughts on how their choices reflect enduring values of
Tennesseans that have influenced the history of our state.
Tennessee History Comes Alive
Family Day, May 8, 1-4 p.m.
Free Admission
Special Activities for
Children
On Saturday, May 8, the exhibit will literally come alive as interpreters dressed in
period costumes portray individuals from our state’s past. Visitors will have the
opportunity to interact with historical characters such as a frontier long hunter,
Civil War soldier, and woman’s suffragette while touring the exhibit, and can
participate in special games and hands-on activities for children. Tennessee
History Comes Alive Family Day begins at 1:00 p.m. and continues until 4:00 p.m.
The public is invited to attend free of charge.
Musket, 1763-1780, owned by Daniel Boone,
selected by Rep. Jimmy Matlock, Lenoir City
Print, 1819-1836, “Cherokee Village of Toqua,”
by C. Motte, selected by Sen. Randy McNally,
Oak Ridge
Conestoga Wagon, early 1800s, owned by the
Thomas Family of Blountville, selected by Rep.
Tony Shipley, Kingsport
Dulcimer, 1832, made by Dr. Neil McNeil of
Sneedville, selected by Sen. Mike Faulk,
Kingsport
Sword, 1785-1800, owned by General Jethro
Sumner, for whom Sumner County was named,
selected by Rep. Debra Maggart,
Hendersonville
Sword, 1780, used by statesman John Rhea
during the American Revolution, selected by Lt.
Gov. Ron Ramsey, Blountville
Table, 1790s, from Knoxville Gazette office,
selected by Rep. Joe Armstrong, Knoxville
Portraits, 1818, by unknown artist, showing Robert and Elizabeth Banks
Boyers of Gallatin, selected by Sen. Diane Black, Gallatin
Slant Front Desk, 1804-1814, descended in the Samuel
McAdoo family of Wilson County, selected by Rep.
Susan Lynn, Lebanon
Secretary Desk, 1833, made by John Erhart Rose of
Knoxville, selected by Sen. Tim Burchett,
Knoxville
Watch, 1796, presented by Territorial Governor
William Blount to newly elected Governor John Sevier,
selected by Sen. Doug Overbey, Maryville
Portrait of John Overton, 1830, attributed to
Washington B. Cooper, selected by Rep. Steve
McManus, Cordova
Blanket, late 1800s to early 1900s, made by
Mary Ellen Holland York of Clay County,
selected by Rep. Les Winningham, Huntsville
Tobacco Barn, 1800s, selected by Sen.
Charlotte Burks, Monterey
Sword, early 1800s, once owned by Sam
Houston, selected by Rep. Gerald McCormick,
Chattanooga
Saddlebags, 1800s, owned by the Reverend
Asbury Smith, selected by Rep. Jim Hackworth,
Clinton
Surveying Transit, early 1800s, used by John
Eakin of Blount County to map out the town of
Morganton, selected by Rep. Joe McCord,
Maryville
Secretary Desk, 1845-1855, sold by Titus Woods
& Company of Memphis, Sen. Mark Norris,
Collierville
Portrait, about 1856, The Turner Children of
LaGrange, TN, by H. A. Tatum, selected by Sen.
Dolores Gresham, Somerville
Desk, 1860-1870, used in a one-room school
house, selected by Rep. Jim Coley, Bartlett
Secretary and Bookcase, 1860-1870, by John D.
Miller of Franklin, selected by Rep. Charles
Sargent, Franklin
Sofa, 1857, owned by John Berrien Lindsley and
Sarah McGavock Lindsley of Nashville,
selected by Rep. Beth Harwell, Nashville
Derringer Pistols, 1840-1869, sold by Frederick H.
Clark & Co. of Memphis, selected by Rep. Mike
Kernell, Memphis
Long Rifle, 1830-1860, made by gunsmith Meser
Ensley of Bradley County, selected by Rep.
Kevin Brooks, Cleveland
Painting, 1887, “In the Tennessee Mountains,”
by George W. Chambers, selected by House
Speaker Emeritus Jimmy Naifeh, Covington
Carriage, 1890-1900, used to convey dignitaries
visiting Knoxville, selected by Rep. Harry Tindell,
Knoxville
“Chief Rozetta” Steam Pumper Fire Engine,
about 1900, named for Nashville Fire Chief
Antonio “Tony” Rozetta, selected by Rep. Mike
Turner, Old Hickory
Quilt, 1979, “Chapel Window,” by Wanda C.
James of Memphis, selected by House Speaker
Pro Tempore Lois DeBerry, Memphis
Quilt, 1996, “It Takes a Village,” by Lee Ella
Martin and Pals of Pleasure Social and Civic
Club of Nashville, selected by Sen. Thelma
Harper, Nashville
Quilt, 1850s-1860s, New York Beauty pattern,
sent to Martha Edwards of Fosterville by the
family of a wounded Union soldier she nursed
back to health, selected by Sen. Jim Tracy,
Shelbyville
Flag, 1861, “presented by the ladies of Franklin”
to 32nd Tennessee Infantry Regiment, CSA,
selected by Sen. Jack Johnson, Brentwood
Cannon, 1861, made by T. M. Brennan of
Nashville, selected by Sen. Douglas Henry,
Nashville
Bowie Knife, 1860s, from Bruceton, Carroll
County, selected by Rep. Curtis Halford, Dyer
Sword, 1849-1862, owned by Confederate
General James E. Rains, selected by Sen. Bill
Ketron, Murfreesboro
Rifle, 1850s-1860s, presented to Confederate
cavalry commander John Hunt Morgan,
selected by Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver, Lancaster
Saber, 1860s, presented to John W. Morton by
the people of Nashville, selected by Rep. Steve
McDaniel, Parkers Crossroads
Dress Uniform Jacket, 1861-1865, worn by
Colonel John Goff Ballentine of Pulaski,
selected by Sen. Doug Jackson, Dickson
Pistol Set, 1853, owned by Andrew Johnson,
selected by Sen. Steve Southerland, Morristown
Union Army Enlistment Paper, 1863, for Marshall
Brady, an African American from Gibson
County, selected by Sen. Lowe Finney, Jackson
Military Insignia, 1864-1866, owned by Preston
Irwin who served in the 1st Colored Heavy
Artillery Regiment of the Union Army during the
Civil War, selected by Rep. John DeBerry,
Memphis
Memphis Grand Opera House Company Bond,
1888-1892, selected by Sen. Beverly Marrero,
Memphis
Ornithopter, 1895, built by Tennessee farmer
and inventor Dave England, selected by Rep.
Craig Fitzhugh, Ripley
Painting, 1914-1915, Catherine Gaut, by
Catherine Wiley, both of Knoxville, selected by
Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Jamie Woodson,
Knoxville
Painting, 1866, “In the Sequatchie Valley,” by
Othniel S. Spang, selected by Rep. Bill Harmon,
Dunlap
Painting, 1907, Governor John Cox, by Lloyd
Branson, selected by Rep. Jon Lundberg, Bristol
Violin, 1870-1895, owned by Governor Alfred
Taylor, selected by House Speaker Kent
Williams, Elizabethton
William Jennings Bryan Campaign Ribbon,
selected by Sen. Ken Yager, Harriman
Tennessee Equal Suffrage Association Banner,
1920, selected by Rep. Janis Baird Sontany,
Nashville
Painting, 1973-1974, Untitled, by Dewitt Jordan,
selected by Rep. Johnny Shaw, Bolivar
Bible, 1907-1911, used by the Stout Family of
Memphis, selected by Sen. Reginald Tate,
Memphis
Portrait Miniature, 1871-1904, Captain Tom
Ryman, by Peter Ross Calvert, selected by Sen.
Joe Haynes, Goodlettsville
Casey Jones Pedal Car, early 1900s, selected
by Rep. Jimmy Eldridge, Jackson
Pottery Wheel, 1857-1908, used by Charles
Decker of Washington County, selected by Rep.
Matthew Hill, Jonesborough
Bell, late 1800s to early 1900s, made by Ross
Meehan Foundry Company of Chattanooga,
selected by Sen. Bo Watson, Hixson
Sign, about 1900, for newspaper owned by
Adolph Ochs, selected by Sen. Andy Berke,
Chattanooga
Tennessee History Comes Alive
Family Day, May 8
Free Admission
Special Activities for
Children