The Center for Historic Preservation works together with students, communities, and citizens to identify, understand, and better utilize their heritage assets–those historic sites, landscapes, artifacts, and historical narratives that tell the stories of our shared past. Through our partnerships we encourage heritage development that enhances a sense of place, pride, and identity.
View a comprehensive list of partnership projects here.
Examples of the services we provide:
Exhibits can be designed to accommodate varying budgets and space constraints. Some are intended to be traveling exhibits while others are permanent.
Lesson plans and workshops using the Tennessee Department of Education’s Social Studies curriculum provide K-12 educators with tools for using local history.
Tourism publications including brochures, historic markers, and web sites are some of the many tools used to promote a community’s history and tell its story to residents and visitors alike.
Site development plans assist those managing historic properties by identifying its significance, providing interpretation recommendations, and analyzing other preservation needs. Included may be guidelines for small museums, collections management policy, and/or a furnishings report.
Properties may be nominated for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, a federal recognition program administered by the National Park Service. Listing may qualify the property for specific preservation benefits and incentives.
Historic structures reports follow a standard format to more comprehensively document a historic structure’s history, condition, and maintenance. The information in these reports guides project architects as they make decisions on restoration/removal of historic fabric and on period of restoration, as recommended in the “Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.”
Heritage development reports identify and assess the preservation needs of a group of historic resources defined by geography or theme. The reports provide recommendations for more fully utilizing these heritage assets to tell a community’s unique story and to create new economic development opportunities.
A physical conditions assessment usually focuses on a specific historic structure, providing the property owner with an analysis of its current condition and maintenance or repair needs. If applicable, the report may also provide recommendations and priorities for restoration or adaptive use.
A physical conditions assessment usually focuses on a specific historic structure, providing the property owner with an analysis of its current condition and maintenance or repair needs. If applicable, the report may also provide recommendations and priorities for restoration or adaptive use.
The CHP is also a frequent sponsor of historic preservation and history conferences and symposia. The CHP develops educational programming and regularly make presentations on a range of historic preservation and history topics.
Historic surveys provide an inventory of significant resources. Surveys are often the first step in historic preservation efforts, providing a comprehensive basis for all future planning decisions and possible National Register nominations.
Examples of completed projects:
Considering the Future of the Franklin P. Blue Municipal Building, McMinnville, Tennessee
Maury County African American Heritage Tour Guide
In the Footsteps of Notable Women Self-Guided Tour of Rutherford County
Cocke County Heritage Development Report
A Guide to Surveying and Documenting Rural African American Churches in the South
Questions?
We encourage you to email or call us with questions, requests, needs, or concerns. Please tell us as much as possible about your project; that information may help us identify the resources to assist you. Keep in mind that most projects take 6 months to a year to begin. We give priority to regional projects, those that include publicly-accessible sites, and those that match student interests and skills with project needs.