Unbounded Partnerships:Community-Based Preservation

Aleia Brown, Ginna Foster Cannon, Pat Cummins, Brad Miller and Teresa Prober

April 2015

MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation• Established 1984

• Center of Excellence

• Dr. Carroll Van West, Director of CHP & State Historian

CHP’s Primary Initiatives• Rural Preservation, Sustainability and Heritage Development

• Heritage Education

• Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area

• Heritage Diversity

• American Democracy Project

Community-Based Preservation Methods• Grassroots-Generated

• Boots on the Ground

• Heritage Development

• Sustainable Planning

CHP’s Graduate Research Assistants (2014-2015)

Methods in Action • 3 Case Studies, 1 Community Partner

• Many CHP projects start as class projects

• CHP focused on building long-term relationships with partners

• Multi-staged, multi-year projects with partners is the norm

Rose Hill and Rosemount CemeteriesColumbia, Tennessee

First Case Study

Project Background & Scope

Fence dividing Rose Hill and Rosemount Cemeteries

Background:• MTSU class project in conjunction with

CHP• CHP philosophy• Cultural landscape approach to cemetery

districts

Scope:• Historical assessment• Preservation considerations• Heritage development

Grassroots

• Danny Moser a member of the Board of Trustees for Rose Hill Cemetery in Columbia, TN contacted MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation (CHP) for planning advice and possible National Register of Historic Places nomination.• Though Rose Hill has historical value, CHP advocated a joint project to

include Rosemount, the adjacent African American Cemetery. This demonstrates the significance of the cultural landscape cemetery district which can only be understood when both sides of mirror cemeteries are accessed. • For the first time in 60 years representatives from both cemeteries

are working together for a mutual purpose.

Civil War Trails Program

• Marker program encompasses 5 states.

• TN driving tour map is the most requested and downloaded.

• Civil War Trails Marker Process.

• Research, historical narrative, images, and captions.

Marble Springs State Historic SiteKnoxville, TN

Second Case Study

History of Marble Springs• John Sevier, Tennessee’s first governor (1745-1815)

• State-owned since 1941

• Period of significance listed as 1790

Scope of Project• Request for a preliminary assessment• Class project• Focus on site’s 5 historic buildings• Provide assessments of exterior, interior

and furnishings• Provide specific and general

recommendations for each area

CHP Recommendations

• Design conservation plan

• Provide new interpretation and signage

• Create strategic marketing plan and marketing material

• Amend National Register Nomination to reflect recent findings

Third Case Study

• The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Historic Engel Stadium

• Heritage Assessment Plan

Source: The Engel Foundation

The Story

Source: The Engel Foundation

The Players

• University of Tennessee at Chattanooga• The Engel Foundation• Center for Historic

Preservation

Setting Goals

• Starting Lineup: Recognizing Engel Stadium as a heritage asset • Grounds Crew: Prepare and maintain stadium for safe human

interaction • Announcing the Game: Public Programming • Just Like Joe: Marketing the Hidden Gem of Chattanooga • Post-Game Interview: Gathering Memories

Building Capacity

• Take Advantage of What Already Exists

• Shared Goals

• Communication

• Where is Engel Today?

Community Partner

Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Identification

• The Native History Association researched and verified an approximate 1 ½ mile segment of the Trail of Tears in northern Rutherford County at the East Fork Recreation Area (Old Jefferson) on U.S. Army Corps. Of Engineers property at the Forks of the Stones River, near Smyrna TN.

• CHP followed up with a tour of the property to further verify our research, and the discovery of the Trail of Tears segment. Their findings were then submitted to National Parks Service Staff. As a result of our partnership efforts, the site is now officially marked with National Park Service Trail of Tears signage, and public tours of the property are now offered to the general public by the Native History Association.

The intact federally owned component of the Trail of Tears at the former

settlement of Old Jefferson, circa 1804, the original county seat of Rutherford

County, TN

CHP staff visits and writes a preliminary historic assessment for the circa 1807

Johns-King Home of Smyrna, TN, a Trail of Tears witness structure, at the request of

the Native History Association in 2014.

Col. Robert Weakley Benjamin S. & Mary Neal King

Contact Info

• Aleia Brown – amb2c@mtmail.mtsu.edu• Ginna Foster Cannon – vfc2a@mtmail.mtsu.edu • Pat Cummins – pat@nativehistoryassociation.org• Brad Miller – brm4m@mtmail.mtsu.edu• Teresa Prober – probert@apsu.edu

Questions:

• What does community-based preservation mean to you?

• How have you put community-based preservation into practice? What were the successes and challenges? What advice can you offer those who are launching community-based projects?

• How long do partnerships last between public historians and the communities? Are the projects sustainable on a long-term basis?