Barrs Chapel C.M.E Church

New Website Offers Window Into Daily Life In Civil War Tennesee

Carved Wooden Heart, Open to Reveal Snake, ca. 1863 (Courtesy of the East Tennessee Historical Society, Knoxville)
Little-known stories of how Civil War-era Tennesseans lived their lives away from the battlefield are now accessible on the Shades of Gray and Blue website, which includes digitized images of historical art and other cultural material.

The unique educational website, which includes contributions from scholars across Tennessee, was created through a collaborative effort of Vanderbilt Libraries, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) Walker Library and the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU. Major funding was provided by the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area with additional support from Vanderbilt and Middle Tennessee State universities as well as Anode Inc.  Read more

Welcome 2011-2012 Research Assistants

We welcome our new and returning student research assistants to the 2011-2012 academic year at the Center for Historic Preservation.  Front row, from left to right: Katie Randall, Leigh Ann Gardner, Amy Kostine, Amber Clawson, Sara Beth Gideon, Susan Knowles, Jessica Bandel, Jessi White, and Cassie Bennett.  Back row, from left to right: Jeff McRiffey, David Sprouse, Jaime Woodcock, Rebecca Duke, Kristen Baldwin Deathridge, and Abby Gautreau. Not pictured: Gunter Effler, Katie O'Bryan, and Julie Warwick. Learn more about the CHP assistants and fellows.

New Website Chronicles Tennessee and Ireland Connections

In the summer of 2011, a brick house that was built ca. 1825 in Sumner County will open as the newest attraction in the Ulster-American Folk Park near Omagh in County Tyrone. Operated by the Museums of Northern Ireland, the Folk Park tells the stories of the thousands of immigrants who came to America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries from that region. The Francis Rogan House was built near Castalian Springs east of Gallatin by a first generation Irish-American whose parents came from County Tyrone. The house was the focal point of a large farm that was managed and lived on by Rogans until well into the twentieth century.  A website, launched by the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, tells the stories of the Rogan family over 200 years including how their farmhouse became the basis for an international partnership that resulted in a Tennessee house being removed to Northern Ireland.  Read more


New Historical Signs Installed in Downtown Murfreesboro

New outdoor interpretive signs were installed in June on and around the Courthouse Square in Murfreesboro. Visitors to the Heritage Center have the opportunity to learn even more about the history of the community when they take a walking tour of the Square. Staff from the Center for Historic Preservation and the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, especially Michael Gavin and Van West, worked with the Rutherford County Convention and Visitors Bureau on this exciting project.  Read the article in the Daily News Journal.

To learn more about the history of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, stop by the Heritage Center at 225 West College Street weekdays from 10-3.  For more information, contact them at (615) 217-8013 or email them at heritagecenter@mtsu.edu.