Constitution Week Events

Next week there will be  2 FREE Events that you may interested in attending at the Hamilton County Courthouse in Chattanooga, Tennessee!

12:00 noon, Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Constitutional Bell-Ringing at Hamilton County Courthouse

6:oo pm, Monday, September 22, 2014

Hamilton County Commission Room, Courthouse

A Constitution Celebration with Questions/Answers
Tom Greenholtz, “A Discussion of Presidential Power”
Chambliss, Bahner and Stophel

TVGS Spring Seminar 2014

I have another fun and informative workshop coming up to share with you. The TVGS, The Tennessee Valley Genealogical Society, is having their Spring Seminar on May 3, 2014. It will run that Saturday from   9 am - 2:30 pm at the Huntsville Public Library Auditorium. It includes a wide variety of presentations from Pay Sayre, a Certified Genealogist and Certified Genealogical Lecturer. It also includes lunch and book sales. She will be discussing Military Records; Maps and their Usage; The Black Sheep in your family; and NARA's finding aids.
Find attached a copy of the flyer that includes the registration form and your lunch preferences.
Everyone from TVGS looks forward to seeing you there!

Local Cave Art

On Monday, April 7, 2014 at 6 pm,  Dr. Jan Simek, president emeritus of the University of Tennessee system, will speak on the Cumberland Plateau cave art, located from the Kentucky line down into Northern Alabama. Dr. Simek has documented, through carbon dating, art from between 500 and 6000 years.

The 6,000-year-old cave art, discovered by Simek and his team, revealed clues as to what Native American life in the South may have been like at the time. Many drawings depicted humans with pointed tools alongside wild dogs, serpents and other beasts. Other drawings of celestial designs allude to a spiritual understanding of the universe.

http://www.kwkt.com/news/ancient-tennessee-cave-paintings-show-deep-thinking-natives

Annual Genealogy Workshop

Chattanooga Delta Genealogy Society is proud to announce its 2014 Genealogy Workshop!

The workshop will be held on Saturday, February 22, 2014 at the Ooltewah United Methodist Church from 9:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.  (registration begins at 8:30 a.m.)

We welcome:

Linda Woodward Geiger, CG, CGL, who will be presenting two topics: 

    ”I Swear Allegiance – Naturalization records 1790-1950″ and 

    “More Than Land Descriptions: Treasures among the Deeds.”

Linda Mines, Hamilton County Historian, will present “Early 19th Century Tennessee: The War of 1812 and Beyond.”

Deborah Liening from the Ooltewah Family History Center will give us a Tour of FamilySearch and New FamilySearch Family Tree.

Pre-registration for the workshop (through February 15) is $20 for members and $25 for non-members.  Visit our website here to learn more!

Hope to see you there!

James County Historical Society is announcing their winter meeting. It will be held February 2nd, 2014 at 2:30 pm at the Ooltewah United Methodist Church in Ooltewah.

We have a great speaker. His name is Bob George from the Bradley County Historical Society. He will be speaking on the history of Cleveland and its Revolutionary Heroes.Their most important hero was Colonel Benjamin Cleveland, a commander at the Battle of Kings Mountain during the American Revolution.

I must admit that I don't know anything about this. I am looking forward to what he has to say. I just love History! Hope to see you there!

CAHA Annual Meeting

The Chattanooga Area Historical Association is announcing their annual meeting and lunch on February 1, 2014 at 11:30 am. The meeting will held at the Chattanooga Choo Choo in the Centennial Ballroom. The cost is $26.00. Please contact the CAHA for attendance qualifications.

The speaker will be Dr. Ned Irwin, Archivist for Washington County, Tennessee. He will be speaking on "Bottling Gold: Chattanooga's Coca Cola Fortunes". Coca Cola put Chattanooga on the map as the first place the drink was bottled and sold. Before that time, it was only available in soda fountains primarily in the Atlanta region.

Created Equal: America's Civil Rights Struggle

To celebrate Black History Month, the Emancipation Proclamation, and Martin Luther King, the Chattanooga Public Library is pleased to host a film discussion series on civil rights.  The Create Equal series uses the power of documentary films to encourage community discussion of America's civil rights history. The series consists of four documentaries, The Abolitionists, Slavery by Another Name, The Loving Story, and Freedom Riders, that chronicle the civil rights struggle from Revolutionary times to Martin Luther King. 

The first event is The Abolitionists (February 4: Library Auditorium. 6-7:30pm) -  Vincent Phipps, storyteller and motivational speaker, will begin with a dramatic reading of the  Emancipation Proclamation. The Abolitionists' release in 2013 marked the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The film's ​protoganists William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Angelina Grimke, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and John Brown fought to end slavery through newspapers and broadsides, literature and religion, and finally political action and violence. The scholar for the session will be Raymond Evans, author of Chattanooga: Tennessee's Gateway to the Underground Railroad and Historic African American Places in the Chattanooga Area.​ The Library will present clips from the film followed by discussion. 

More about the Create Equal Series at the Library:
The Chattanooga Public Library is honored to present these four documentaries with riveting new footage illustrating the history of civil rights movement in America.  It is one of 473 institutions that will bring these films into the communities they serve, hoping to help bridge racial and cultural divides in America civic life.  These films tell the stories of men and women who challenged the social and legal status quo of deeply rooted institutions, from slavery to segregation. 

Created Equal: America's Civil Rights Struggle is made possible through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. 

Program note: All of the films, with the exception of The Loving Story, will be shown at the downtown library auditorium. Our community partners at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center will present The Loving Story at the BCCC on February 18. In addition to the film series the library will present a genealogy workshop as part of Black History Month​, From Africa to America: Tracing Your Roots, on Saturday, February 15. 

Dates, Times, and Places

Abolitionists: February 4, 6-7:30pm Library auditorium

Slavery by Another Name: February 13, 6-7:30pm Library auditorium

From Africa To America: Tracing Your Roots: February 15, 10am-12 Library auditorium

The Loving Story: February 18 6:30-8pm Bessie Smith Cultural Center

Freedom Riders: February 25, 6-7:30pm Library auditorium

Researching Your Civil War Ancestor: Johnny Reb or Billy Yank

Researching Your Civil War Ancestor: Johnny Reb or Billy Yank

The seminar will explore a wide variety of records about soldiers as well as people with Union sympathies, those who supported the South, and those who just tried to keep out of the way. Mary Helms, Head of Local History and Genealogy, will illustrate how to use many sources, such as Official Records, 1890 Special Census Schedule, Southern Claims Commission, and research on the Internet, including Fold3 and Ancestry. For more information call 757-5317 or email helms_m@lib.chattanooga.gov.
Open to the public at no charge as part of the recognition of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Dec. 7 at Downtown Library
Dec. 14 at Eastgate Library
Dec. 21 at Northgate Library

CCH Historical Society Meeting to Highlight Veterans

 

The Charleston-Calhoun-Hiwassee Historical Society will meet Sunday November 17 at 3 p.m. at The Hiwassee River Heritage Center in Charleston.   Laura Spann of Whitebluff, TN will present a program on the recent discovery of more than twenty veteran’s graves in the Calhoun Cemetery, whose roles in prior wars had not been known.  For many years, various groups in Calhoun have placed flags on the graves of veterans buried in the cemetery, and this recent finding will give these newly discovered veterans the recognition they deserve as part of history. 

Several of the veterans, including the names of Bates, McCarty, Workman, and McClatchey served in the War of 1812 while others served in the Civil War.  There are fascinating stories connected with each of them, several of which had key roles during the Removal of the Cherokees.  Other were very active in the early county government and the founding of Calhoun. 

Ms. Spann has been very active the past year doing extensive research on the Calhoun Cemetery.  Her efforts have located several missing gravesites and markers and have established many family relationships, including those of Cherokee families, buried in the cemetery. 

At the meeting, visitors will be given an update on Phase II of the Heritage Center.  The public is invited to attend the meeting.  The Center is located on Highway 11 in Charleston near the school. 

Fourth Civil War Walking Tour

The Chattanooga History Center will present the fourth downtown tour in its Civil War Sesquicentennial series, A Walking Tour: Siege Lines, Confederate Perspective, at 5:30pm, Tuesday, November 5th.  The walk will be led by CHC Executive Director and Historian, Dr. Daryl Black, and Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park Chief Historian, Jim Ogden.  Participants will meet the guides at the corner of Orchard Knob and Ivey Streets, by the Orchard Knob Military Park.   The fee is $5 per person (CHC members free).  Space is limited and pre-registration is required by Monday, November 4th.  Call 423-265-3247 to register.

Civil War Walking Tour Part 3

History Center Presents The Third
Civil War Sesquicentennial Walking Tour


 
Chattanooga, TN--- The Chattanooga History Center will present the third downtown tour in its Civil War Sesquicentennial series, A Walking Tour: Occupied City, at 5:30pm, Tuesday, October 8th. The walk will be led by CHC Executive Director and Historian, Dr. Daryl Black, and Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park Chief Historian, Jim Ogden. Participants will meet the guides on the Tennessee Aquarium Plaza in front of the Chattanooga History Center. The fee is $5 per person (CHC and Friends of the Park members free). Space is limited and pre-registration is required by Monday, October 8th. Call 423-265-3247 to register.



2 West Aquarium Way, Suite 200 | Chattanooga, TN 37402 | p: 423.265.3247 | f: 423.266.9280 | chattanoogahistory.org

Fort Wood Civil War Banquet

 Chattanooga, TN . . . An outdoor Civil War Banquet will be held in the Fort Wood Historic District on September 27, joining the list of special events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battles of Chattanooga. This event will serve as a fundraiser for the Fort Wood Neighborhood Association, a 501(c)3 organization.

The banquet will be hosted under a tent on the lawn at 850 Fort Wood Street, one of the neighborhood’s historic buildings, which now serves as the business headquarters of Jay Robinson Real Estate. The banquet will begin at 6:30 PM with appetizers and spirits, followed by a three course plated dinner at 7:15 PM. Music of the period and Civil War re-enactors will add to the ambiance. Following the dinner, Daryl Black, executive director of the Chattanooga History Center, will speak about Fort Wood’s role in the battles of the Civil War in a 20-minute program entitled "After Chickamauga."

Self-guided historic walking tours of the neighborhood will be offered at no charge, and prints of the original fort in Fort Wood will be offered for purchase.

Attendance for the Civil War Banquet is limited to 150 seats. The ticket price is $75, and may be purchased online at http://www.ChattanoogaPresents.com. Sponsors for the banquet are First Tennessee Bank, Cansler Photography, Jay Robinson Real Estate and the Chattanooga History Center.

The original "fort" in Fort Wood was an earthwork stronghold constructed by Union forces in 1863 during their occupation of Chattanooga. Originally named for Colonel William R. Creighton, killed at Ringgold, Georgia, in November 1863, the fort was renamed after 1864 in honor of General Thomas Wood.

On September 19 and 20, 1863, the Union Army of the Cumberland struggled with Confederate forces south of Chattanooga along the banks of Chickamauga Creek. After an epic collapse on September 20, Union troops retreated into Chattanooga demoralized and beaten. Many feared for the army's survival. Within days, however, these men had created a formidable ring of fortifications around Chattanooga. Centered on Fort Wood, these lines of entrenchments provided security to the harried soldiers and allowed them to hold the town that Abraham Lincoln considered among the most strategic points in the nation. A mere two months later, the decisive attack on the Confederate forces on Missionary Ridge began when signal shots rang out from the Union artillery at Fort Wood. The victory gained that day assured the collapse of the Confederacy.

For more information about the Civil War Banquet, call 423.265.0771 ext. 100. For more information about the Fort Wood Historic District, visit www.historicfortwood.org.

 

Family Civil War Program

Chattanooga, TN--- The Chattanooga History Center will present From the Journal of a Confederate Nurse for ages 8 and up at 2:30-4:00pm on Sunday, September 15th, at the Center.  The program will be led by CHC History Educator, Caroline Sunderland.  The fee is $10 for 1 parent and 1 child ($5 for CHC members).  Each child must be accompanied by an adult. Space is limited and pre-registration is required by Thursday, September 12th.  Call 423-265-3247 to register.

This program offers a great opportunity for family members to explore history together.  Parents, grandparents, or other relatives or caregivers are invited to accompany their youngsters in taking a then-and-now look at the practice of medicine.  They will be guided by an historic interpreter dressed as Civil War nurse Kate Cumming might have been.  Using Kate's journal, participants will learn about the importance of research based on primary sources, and the potential importance of journaling.  There will be fun activities and an examination of the authentic Civil War field surgeon's kit to be used in the CHC's new exhibit.

In1862, Confederate nurse Kate Cumming served the wounded in the Chattanooga area.  As the Union Army moved toward Chattanooga, Kate moved south into Georgia, where she worked at several locations receiving the southern wounded.  She continued to move with the front line of battle throughout the war. She recorded in her journal the work performed in the wartime hospitals, including the field tent hospitals.  Much of what is known today about Civil War medicine comes to us through Kate's journal.

Walking Tour of Wilder's Bombardment

This just in from the Chattanooga History Center...

The Chattanooga History Center will present a Walking Tour: Marking the 150th Anniversary of Wilder's Bombardment of Chattanooga at 7:00pm, Wednesday, August 21st.  The walk will be led by CHC Executive Director and Historian, Dr. Daryl Black, and Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park Chief Historian, Jim Ogden.  Participants will meet the guides on the Tennessee Aquarium Plaza in front of the Chattanooga History Center.   The fee is $5 per person (CHC and Friends of the Park members free).  Space is limited and pre-registration is required by Tuesday, August 20th.  Call 423-265-3247 to register.

check our their website: http://chattanoogahistory.org/

 

 
 
 

Experience the Trail of Tears

Ron Cooper, a member of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma walked and hiked the northern route of the Cherokee Trail of Tears. His book entitled "It's My Trail Too- A Comanche Indian's Journey on the Cherokee Trail of Tears" records Ron's experience, as well as, celebrates the resiliency of Native Americans.

Mr Cooper will be the speaker at the Chattanooga Downtown Library on Monday evening, July 29, 2013 at 6 pm. The event is sponsored by the Chattanooga Area Historical Association. The event is free of charge and open to the public. We invite you to attend and bring a guest.

We look forward to seeing you there.

James County Historical Society August 2013 Meeting

The James County Historical Society will meet Sunday, August 4, at 2:30pm in the Ooltewah Methodist Church in the Sunday School addition.

The program will be presented by Joe Bryan and Darlene Goins who are president and Treasurer of the Calhoun-Charleston Historical Society.

Their presentation will review some highlights of the rich history of that area and also the exciting development of their three-year old historical society.

 If you use email, please send your email address to me at dcopeland@copelandsinc.net. and receive future meeting notices via email.

Spring Place Festival in Murray County Georgia

This just in from Whitfield-Murray Historical Society.....

Spring Place Festival Set for August 17

The 15th annual Spring Place Community Festival will be held Saturday, August 17 at the Old Spring Place Methodist Church just off Georgia Highway 225 South.  Sponsored by the Spring Place Ruritan Club and the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society, the Festival commemorates Spring Place’s heritage and raises funds for the continued preservation of the Old Spring Place Methodist Church. 

The theme this year is “Spring Place:  A Legacy in Education” and will feature a special display of pictures, paintings, and memorbelia relating to the various schools that were eventually consolidated into Spring Place Elementary—as well as a sort of reunion for those who attended those schools. (See related article.)  A raffle of a framed artist print of the famous “Lucy Hill Institute” by the late Erik Gallman will conclude the Festival’s activities.

The festival will open at 8 am and will have something for everyone. Members of the Ruritan Club will have their usual bake sale with homemade cakes of all kinds. Breakfast biscuits and lunchtime hotdog plates are among other items being sold to raise funds to maintain the old church. A large assortment of “new” and used books, historical society publications, collectibles, and flea market items including Christmas decorations, linens, glassware, toys, office and household items attract buyers as well. The flea market will also include clothes again this year, too.

The largest fundraising event is an auction set to begin at 10:00 a.m. Things to be auctioned include several artist prints; gift certificates to area businesses including Little Rome, Big V, The Biscuit Box, Zaxby’s, The Crème Hut, Pork n Beans, Los Amigos, Paul’s Dive-In, and John’s Bar B Que; sets of local history books; furniture; coin sets; and rugs donated by Value and Beckler Carpets.

The MCHS Alumni Association will have rock building post cards, notecards, and prints for sale while a variety of vendors will sell jewelry, crafts, and specialty items. Friends of Linda Lunsford will have a booth to raise money to help this beloved Murray County educator receive a kidney transplant, too.  First National Bank, The Spring Place Ruritan Club, the Chatsworth-Murray County Library, Go Murray County Arts, The Humane Society, the Murray County Gideons Camp, and Keep Murray Beautiful Commission will have information tables while the Boy Scouts will be on hand to help with parking and other activities.  An assortment of historical items will also be on display including original doors from the old courthouse at Spring Place.  That building later served as a school longer than is was used as a courthouse!  It was the home of Lucy Hill High School.

Parking will be available on Elm Street as well as across the road from the church.  To find out more about the festival, call Elizabeth Robinson at 706-695- 6021Carlton McDaniel at 706-695-2110, Jyana and Chuck Smith  at 706-695-8297, or Tim Howard at 706-695-2740.

How the Civil War Affected NW Georgia Families

Join Chattanooga Delta Genealogy Society for our monthly meeting on Tuesday, July 9, 2013 at 7 p.m. at the Rossville Public Library.

Using various record groups, Dennis Rhea will provide a glimpse of what life was like in northwest Georgia in the 1860s, and share stories of how the Civil War affected some families in the area.

We hope to see you there!

Tour of the Hamilton County Courthouse

The building that you see here is the 7th Hamilton County Courthouse. It has been located in different towns and in non-commercial buildings such as a tavern since 1819.

1.  Poe's Tavern
2.  John Mitchell Farm
3.  A log house in Dallas belonging to Rawlings
4.  James Hall at 6th and Market
5.  A building at 4th and Market
6.  A building on the hill at Georgia, Walnut, 6th and 7th Street
7.  Our current location after the prior building was hit by lightning. The new building's grand opening was in 1913. The building was designed by Rueben Harrison Hunt and was built for $35,000. It sported a glazed tile roof, colored glass dome and gray marble.

The tour is sponsored by the Chattanooga Area Historical Society and will be conducted by our County Historian, Linda Mines. This private tour is a unique experience and Ms Mines will bring the history alive.

Come join us on Tuesday, May 14th at 6pm. We will meet on the Georgia Avenue side of the building. The party for the Courthouse's 100 birthday begins when you get there!

I have included directions from various locations around the southeast courtesy of the Hamilton County website.

From Knoxville Start going west on I-40 Take I-75 south split Take I-24 west split in Chattanooga Take US-27 N exit into Downtown area Take 4th St Exit (1C) Follow 4th St through Downtown at 7th stop light (Georgia Av), take a right County Courthouse is on the right

From Nashville Start going east on I-24 toward Chattanooga Take US-27 north exit to downtown Take 4th St Exit (1C) Follow 4th St through Downtown at 7th stop light (Georgia Av), take a right County Courthouse is on the right

From Atlanta Start going north on I-75 Take 1_24 West split in Chattanooga Take US-27 N exit into Downtown area Take 4th St Exit (1C) Follow 4th St through Downtown at 7th stop light (Georgia Av), take a right County Courthouse is on the right

Tom Griscom at the White House

The Chattanooga Area Historical Association will be hosting Tom Griscom. He will be discussing his years in the White House under President Reagan.



Mr Griscom is a past and current native of Chattanooga who graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Previously, Griscom was the the Executive Editor and Publisher of the Chattanooga Times Free Press; Executive Vice President for external relations for the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company. He was the Director of Communications for the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan; the Press Secretary for the former U.S. Senator, Howard Baker, an employee of Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd; and a public relations consultant with Powell-Tate.

Before entering the political and lobbying business, he was the political editor at The Chattanooga News-Free Press. In 1978 Griscom joined the staff of Senator Baker and later became part of the Reagan administration. As Baker's senior staff person, he essentially ran day-to-day operations at the White House while Baker was chief of staff, and he maintained the strong links between the administration and the Republican Party.  He now has his own consulting firm.

Come hear some fun and interesting stories about one of our country's most beloved Presidents from a Chattanoogan who was there when it all happened.

The event will be held at the Chattanooga Downtown Libray at 6 pm on Monday, the 29th April. It is free to all. No reservations are required. Come and bring a friend.

1001 Broad Street, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402.

423-757-5310

 



*wikipedia.com