to Meet in
Brownsville
The Haywood County Historical Society is
honored that the Tennessee Historical Commission (THC) has
chosen Brownsville and Haywood County as the site for their summer meeting. The
meeting will be held at College Hill Center on Friday, June 16, 2006, at 9 a.m.
The public is invited.
The Commission members and their spouses,
along with staff, will be arriving on June 15, and will tour some
of our historic homes, churches, and businesses The West
Tennessee Delta Heritage Center and the College Hill Museum and Lincoln
Collection are included on the tour. On Thursday evening, the
Commission will gather at Lilies for dinner.
The THC is comprised of 29 members (24
appointed by the Governor and 5 ex-officio members that include
the Governor, Commissioner of Environment and Conservation, State Historian,
State Archaeologist, and State Librarian and Archivist.) The Commission was
created in 1919 by the Tennessee General Assembly and meets three times a year.
The duties of the THC are to record,
preserve, interpret, and publicize events, persons, sites, structures
and objects significant to the history of the state and to enhance public
knowledge and awareness of Tennessee history and the
importance of preserving it. The Commission also oversees
activities and programs authorized under the federal National Historic
Preservation Act. Other responsibilities include coordinating
and/or oversight for most of the 18 state-owned or supported historic
properties, such as the Hermitage and maintaining an active role in the
Historical Markers Program which began in the 1950s and has placed nearly 1500
markers at locations of sites, persons, and events significant in
Tennessee history. They allocate both federal and state grants
for historic projects.
The THC also functions as the Tennessee
Wars Commission that is legislatively mandated to plan,
preserve, and promote structures, buildings, sites, and battlefields associated
with the French and Indian War (1754-1763), the American
Revolutionary War (1775-1783), the War of 1812 (1812-1815), the U.S. Mexican
War (1846-1848), and the American Civil War (1861-1865). The TWC is responsible
for ensuring that all literature produced, adequately reflects the role
of African Americans in the American Revolution and contributions on both sides
of the Civil War. Since 1999, many grants have been given across the state, a
number of pamphlets have been published, and a video has been produced about
the importance of preserving battlefields in Tennessee, which had more Civil
War battles than any state except Virginia.
As you can see, the Tennessee Historical
Commission plays a very vital role in preserving the history of our great state
and anyone interested in Tennessee history is invited to attend the meeting on June
16.