Issue 3 Winter- Spring 2014 路 Hardeman Co. APTA 1
The Hardeman County Chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities The Pillars and The Little Courthouse Museum 3nd online edition Winter - Spring 2014
Hardeman County Chapter of APTA List of Officers Ken Savage: President Dianne Mumford: Vice President - Little Courthouse Angela Galloway: Vice President – The Pillars Meri Collins: Recording Secretary Karen Nuckolls: Corresponding Secretary Judy Shackelford: Treasurer APTA Contact Information: Mail To: APTA P.O. Box 148 Bolivar, TN 38008 Phone: (731) 518-7148 Web Site: http://thepillars.org/ Facebook: The Pillars and Little Courthouse
APTA’s newest jewel to be added to Historic Homes Tour
The Maxwell - Bertin Home ~ 2013 First Public Showing
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APRIL 25, 2014 The Maxwell - Bertin Home ~ Special Preview PARTY!!! Home owners, Doug Maxwell and Hector Bertin are both longtime supporters of APTA. They are pleased to have their new home on the tour for the very first time as a fundraiser for APTA. To make this event even more special, a “Special Preview Party” will be held from 7:00pm – 9:00pm, Friday, April 25, 2014. Everyone is invited! Wine and appetizers will be served. Soft music will fill the air. Doug said, “I just want this to be successful for APTA and everyone to have a good time.” Get your tickets for this once in a lifetime event for only $25.00 per person. Purchases can be made securely using PayPal online on our APTA chapter’s web site: http://thepillars.org/ or available at The Chamber of Commerce or The Gallery on the Square in Bolivar, Tennessee. APTA NEED SPONSORS! Your name or company name can be listed in the “Preview Party Program Booklet” as SPONSOR for this event for just $50.00 which includes one ticket. All profits of this event and weekend all tours benefit our local Hardeman County Chapter of the APTA. Tickets must be purchased by April 19 for the “Special Preview Party” and Sponsors must commit by April 1. We hope to see you there.
May 3 & 4, 2014 APTA’s 40th Annual Historic Homes Tour Places in Time ~ 1824-2011 This year’s the Hardeman County Chapter of APTA will conduct its annual historic home tour on Saturday, May 3, 2014 from 10:00am – 5:00pm & Sunday, May 4, 2014 from 1pm – 5:00pm. This will be the 40th consecutive year for APTA historic tours and hopefully the most successful one yet. Our theme this year is “Places in Time ~ 1824-2011.” We commemorate Bolivar’s 150th anniversary of the burning of the Courthouse and the departure of General Samuel D. Sturgis’ Union forces by displaying our grand Hardeman County Courthouse (rebuilt in 1868). Characters in costume will perform dramas throughout the two day tour. The Little Courthouse Museum, (1824) the original courthouse now our county museum will be on tour. At Magnolia Manor, (1849) the home of Judge Austin Miller and Headquarters for the Union Army by Generals Logan, McPherson, Sherman, and Grant, guests will be greeted by General Grant, himself. Troop encampments will be located at The Pillars, (1828) where folks like Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, and President Polk visited. At Polk Cemetery (1845) residents from the past will tell of their days in Hardeman County. The “original owners” of McNeal Place (circa 1862) will greet guests and tell them about their Tuscanstyle villa noted for its exquisite Spanish ironwork and their daughter. Visit the wounded soldiers at The Columns (1860). Our tour guests will learn how the sale of Confederate General Otho F. Strahl’s horse paid for stain glass windows at the St. James Episcopal Church (1869). Lunch will be available for purchase at Ingram Hall. Now for the 2011. The “NEW” Maxwell-Bertin House is our latest jewel in our collection. Designed by James Stevens, it is a beautiful spacious home. A must see! This is the first showing of the home to the public. Tickets for this 2 day event are only $25 each or $20 for groups of 10 or more, seniors, students, and APTA members. You can buy your tickets securely using PayPal online on our APTA chapter’s web site: http://thepillars.org/ or also locally at The Chamber of Commerce or The Gallery on the Square. Tickets will be sold at the Hardeman County Courthouse during the event.
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Luze Theater Update
APTA’s Annual Christmas Open House ~ 2013
APTA’s Annual Christmas Open House was held December 15, 2013.
Luez Theater, Bolivar, TN
The Bolivar Downtown Development Corporation (DEVCO) plans to renovate and reopen the theater. They are working with Malco Theaters to bring digital first run movies to our town again.
The Hardeman Co. Chapter of APTA, held its Annual Christmas Open House on December 15, 2014. Every year during the Christmas season, the Hardeman County Chapter of APTA, invites the public to The Pillars, for a free open house. Refreshments were served and tours given. The purpose of the gathering, was to thank the community for their support and to better educate the public of the importance of preserving our state’s historical sites for educational purposes for our children and their grandchildren’s children. Bolivar with over 150 homes and buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, it has a lot of history, just waiting to be told. Once these sites are gone from the landscape, unfortunately their history soon follows. This is why I feel it is very important for us as chapter to work closely with the community and getting the APTA message to everyone we can. Our history in Hardeman County and Tennessee should be available to all that are willing to learn more.
Issue 3 Winter- Spring 2014 · Hardeman Co. APTA 4
Our Local Fall Festivals
CALLING ALL HANDS VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR SPRING CLEANING April 14, 15, & 16 at 10:00am each day, we will need volunteers to help clean, wash, paint, etc. at The Pillars and Little Courthouse Museum. We have to be ready for our upcoming season of tours and activities. We will meet each day at The Pillars.
The Alamo Exhibit was sponsored by our chapter during the Hardeman County Music Festival and free for the public. Wayne Morris of Bolivar had set up a scale model of the Alamo and San Antonio, Texas. Thanks also to Scott and Kathy Ledbetter and the use of their Main Street building. Not too many people connect Hardeman County to the Alamo, but Susanna Wilkerson married Almaron Dickinson in Hardeman County, when she was just 15, on May 24, 1829, and two years later the couple moved to the Mexican province of Texas. Susanna Dickinson was one of two American survivors of the 1836, Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. The second survivor was her infant daughter. According to Mr. Bills’ diary at The Pillars, while living in Bolivar, the Bills family hosted notable guests such as Andrew Jackson, Congressman Adam Huntsman, Sam Houston, Rt. Rev. Leonidas Polk, and various Civil War Generals both South and North. Prior to purchasing the property the home was visited by Davy Crockett and other political people of the era. We hope to have this exhibit again in the spring.
Special thanks to Sheriff Doolen for all the “free” labor he proves for us.
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Most members that received the above postcard in the mail had not renewed their membership this year. The chapter has to account to the State APTA, how many members we have each year on our roll. $10.00 of your yearly fee goes to the State APTA and remainder to the chapter. It is hard for us to count you as a member without your dues being paid. With our part of the dues, we try to perform the day to day business of running 2 sites and promote APTA at the same time. Every membership counts and without our patrons it would be even harder to meet the needs of our sites. We are lucky to have The Pillars and the Little Courthouse Museum as our sites, but cursed too, since we have a lot to keep up. Basic membership fee of $25 per person and $5 for a junior membership is a small sacrifice for most to know you’re doing something to preserve history for our kids and grandchildren.
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The Pillars and Little Courthouse
Visit us on Facebook
Did you know the best way of spreading the word in today’s fast pace world? Facebook! With millions of users, our members, our friends and their friends can keep up with events, special tours and Hardeman County history, too, just by checking our Facebook page. All you have to do is “Search” for “The Pillars and Little Courthouse” or click here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pillars-and-LittleCourthouse/147939817299 Right now our chapter’s Facebook site has over 300 members. I wish all were paying APTA members, but every time they “Like” something on our Facebook page, their friends will see it, too. Now that is a fast way to get the word out. We need to get more of our friends and family interested in APTA and preserving our historic sites and their history. Facebook is one tool to get the word out to our friends and family. Check our site often and hopefully “Like” what you see, it will spread the word quicker!
When was the last time you visited our sites? Bring a friend next time!
Discover Tennessee and visit some of our APTA sites. They are free to explore for our members and you will be helping to preserve history.
WE STILL NEED ALL MEMBER’S EMAIL ADDRESS SAVE TIME, MONEY & TREES!!!
Currently, there are 11 chapters that administer 14 sites. APTA sites include: Belle Meade Plantation, Nashville The Athenaeum Rectory,Columbia Buchanan Log House, Nashville Crockett Tavern Museum, Morristown Glenmore Mansion, Jefferson City Ramsey House Plantation, Rachel H. K. Burrow Museum, Arlington Historic Post Office, Arlington Blacksmith Shop Site, Arlington The Pillars, Bolivar The Little Courthouse Museum, Bolivar Lee House, Memphis Woodruff-Fontaine House, Memphis
You can read The Pillars’ John Houston Bills diary quotes from the Civil War and local history here: https://sites.google.com/site/civilwarhardem ancotn/home
Issue 3 Winter- Spring 2014 · Hardeman Co. APTA 7
Preserving the Past by Angela Galloway The critical factors in maintaining your textile collections are control of environmental conditions, proper display techniques, and proper storage. In storing and displaying, direct contact with brass pins, iron, wood, newsprint, newsprint paper, note cards, unwashed clothes, plastic films, acidic tissue papers, labels, scotch tape, or double-face tape will have detrimental effects. Identification and brief notes in pencil should be written on bond (cotton content) or acid free) paper. Nothing should be stored with a textile but layers of acid-free paper, size free cotton sheeting, or polyester batting. It is suggested that a neutral pH, unbuffered acid free tissue paper be purchased for general textile or costume storage. An 18 pound weight paper is useful for quilts, coverlets, and the storage of other flat textiles. For storing costumes or other items, some “stuffing” or interleaving may be necessary to maintain a three dimensional shape or to prevent abrasion between textile surfaces. For these purposes, a lighter 12 pound paper is suggested. This lighter acid free paper is also known as “laminating tissue.” One of the greatest threats to textiles is light. The worst damage is cause by ultraviolet (UV) radiation from natural daylight and from fluorescent light bulbs. However, while the UV rays damage most rapidly, the entire light spectrum causes textile dyes to fade and the fibers to become brittle. This includes plain incandescent interior lighting. There is some protection in keeping window shades pulled down or shutters closed during the sunniest times of the day. High temperature, excessive heat, and high humidity accelerate the deterioration of textiles and provide a desirable a climate for insects, mold, and mildew. Ideally, a climate of 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit and 5055% relative humidity is best. However, the maintenance of an environment with as little fluctuation as possible is most important. Dirt and dust will probably be the greatest problem with your collection. Dust particles act like small knives, cutting in relative humidity. A regular schedule of inspection and vacuuming is necessary to maintain your collection. Hopefully, these ideas will help you to preserve the irreplaceable fabric of your history.
Lunchoen at Ingram Hall St. James Episcopal Church will have a luncheon at Ingram Hall in conjuction with the APTA’s 40th Annual Historic Tour, May 3 only from 11:00am until 2:pm.
Thanks for your time and efforts It takes a lot of work and planning and designing and re-designing to make fliers, tickets, brochures, web site changes, ads, press news releases; all before the first ticket is sold. Many hours of devoted work by a few. Special thanks to The County Journal, CJ Printing, Lisa Coleman, & Barbara Chamber-Hensley, Cissye Pierce, and Ken Savage.
Issue 3 Winter- Spring 2014 · Hardeman Co. APTA 8
Issue 3 Winter- Spring 2014 路 Hardeman Co. APTA 9