Stewart County Historical Society
Programs and Projects
Past Programs
Programs range from local interest to national and international topics. Local topics presented have included
School groups presented several programs. Guests and members spoke on Tennessee state history topics as well as American history topics. A member of the Cherokee nation was a special guest one month. Programs featured Civil War letters and music, reenactment groups, and dramatization of historical events. And if you wanted to know how to use medicinal plants or make dyes from plants, you could have learned how at the Stewart County Historical Society meetings.
Natural disasters like Hurricane Hugo and the eruption of Mount St. Helens were featured. People gave programs showing the status of women and slaves. Informative programs on restoring court records and how to research your family history were given. Book reviews, bus trips, and presentations about countries around the world educated those who attended. Indian artifacts, dolls from around the world, and many relics from local, national, and world history were displayed. The Stewart County Historical Society works closely with both the Montgomery and Houston County Societies.
Past Projects
- Sponsored the "Produce for Victory" traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian. (2002)
- Supported efforts to expand the Stewart County Library, now in its new location at the corner of Spring St. and Natcor Dr.;
- Refurbished court records dating from early 1800's. In the future, we would like to microfilm these once we inventory and catalog them. State Archives has been in touch with the society about doing this. Space to work on these is not presently available, but we hope this work can continue in the future.
- Preserved Stewart County Records. Some are court records but they would not classify others as court records. We have located, cleaned, and filed loose leaf records dating back as far as 1810. Examples found include divorce papers, election returns, court cases, tax papers, and citizenship papers. Comments above about court records applies to these records also.
- Displayed various exhibits at the Stewart County Library
- Sponsored a Confederate Ball on Memorial Day weekend (1987)
- Sponsored Southern Jamboree as part of the Dover River Days (1990)
- Presented a play, "Echoes of Thunder," depicting the Battle of Ft. Donelson (1986, 1987)
- Restored the Upper Long Creekone-room school after moving it to the North Stewart Elementary School property
- Restored a 100-year-old steel cage used to house prisoners in the jail for 60 years. It is in Dover City Park.
- Served as volunteer guides at the Dover Hotel (Surrender House) and the Tennessee Treasurers Museum. Involved in the Ft. Donelson National Battlefield's Volunteers-in parks program.
- Participated in the Tennessee Bicentennial Celebration by giving guided tours of the Dover City Cemetery. Actors portrayed "voices of the past" who told of their place in Stewart County History.
Future Projects
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