West Tennessee Historical Society

Monday, 7pm at the Memphis University School Wunderlich Auditorium. This will be a joint meeting of the WTHS and the Memphis Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. The presenter will be Bill Strong, Director of the Memphis Chapter of NRHS; the title will be “The History of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.” The M&C was Memphis’ first successful railroad and is the predecessor to the Southern Railroad and today’s Norfolk Southern Railroad. This was the first linkage by rail between the Atlantic Ocean and America’s great “inland sea,” the Mississippi River in 1858. All Memphians are familiar with its route which still runs along Southern Avenue, Poplar Avenue and Poplar Pike eastward to Germantown, Collierville, LaGrange, Huntsville, into Chattanooga.

Our official WTHS meeting for October will be Saturday the 13th at Ames Plantation for the 10^th Annual Heritage Festival. This is a ‘come anytime’ (between 9 and 4) event that gathers artists and craftsmen, living history demonstrators and reenactors, musicians, and others for a glimpse at 19^th century life as it really was. Adult admission is $4.00, children 5-16 $2.00, under five free. (This is the only October meeting of the WTHS!) Ames Plantation is located five miles north of Grand Junction, Tennessee on Buford Ellington Road. For more information visit www.amesplantation.org.

Our November meeting will be Saturday at 11am at the Catfish Restaurant and Steak House, 943 Main Street in Martin, Tennessee. (Phone 731-588-2700 if you get lost) This will be another joint meeting with the Jackson Purchase Historical Society. The speaker will be Dr. Timothy Smith, a former Shiloh National Park historian, who will speak on “The Story of Shiloh in Context,” which puts the battle into a proper perspective of nearly 150 years of Civil War histography. Not a microhistory of tactical moves, but a look at how our understandings and misunderstandings of Shiloh have evolved since April 1862. The Catfish House has a buffet lunch for around $10.00.

Monday, 7pm at the Memphis University School Wunderlich Auditorium. Dr. Tim Sharp of the Rhodes College history faculty will speak to the WTHS about his book “Memphis Music Before the Blues.” This lecture will carry on our recent tradition of interesting and informative talks about the many musical styles and musicians in our region before we, then the country, and the world “caught the blues."

The WTHS meeting on this day will be hosted by The Parkview located at 1914 Popular Ave., Memphis. The WTHS has been invited to a complementary lunch, a tour, and a historical overview of the Parkview. The meeting will begin with lunch at 11:30 am. The Parkview was a grand hotel in its early years and is now a gracious retirement community overlooking historic Overton Park. Reservations are not required, but we will need an approximate headcount. More details will follow in the January WTHS Newsletter.

WTHS President, John Harkins, will present a slide-accompanied lecture to the society at its February 4, 2008 meeting. In conjunction with Black History Month and in anticipation of this spring's publication of Historic Shelby County, Dr. Harkins will speak on the memoir of Louis Hughes, entitled Thirty Years a Slave. Hughes was purchased in Virginia and brought to North Mississippi in his teens. He worked as a house servant on a plantation near Pontotoc and later as a butler in Shelby County, just southeast of Memphis. His detailed description of his life in both areas sheds a good deal of light on how Mid-South-area slaves lived in during the 1840s, '50s, and early '60s. Hughes's life story is well told and often dramatic, including his two attempts to escape from bondage. It also includes his ultimate escape from post-Appomattox Mississippi and his reunion with some of his family members after he moved north

Lou Hughes published his recollections in the late-1890s and his book was reissued in a facsimile reprint in the late 1960s. Its text is available on line from several sources. Dr. Harkins expresses his thanks to former Shelby County Archivist John Dougan and Mr. Stoy Bailey for leading him to this invaluable primary source. Please make every effort to attend this lecture and to enjoy historical fellowship with like-minded West Tennesseans. The meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. in the Campus Center at Memphis University School, 6191 Park Ave, at the corner of Ridgeway Road. The meeting is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

The Black Creek Historical Society will host the March meeting just outside of Jackson, TN, at 11 am. Preservationist and President of the Society Mr. Billy J. King will give a presentation entitled "Historic Denmark." Mr. King's lecture will cover Denmark beginning in 1818, the Denmark Presbyterian Church (where the event will be held), the Masonic Lodge of Denmark, Denmark Church, Ebenezer Church, Brown Creek, migration patterns to Denmark, and the Battle of Britton Lane. A typical dinner from 100 years ago will be served around noon. The meal will consist of cornbread, black eyed peas, fried chicken, biscuits, molasses, and butter. A donation of five dollars per plate will go to help support the preservation of the Denmark Presbyterian Church. Reservations are not required, but we need an approximate headcount. To get to Denmark Presbyterian Church go south on exit 76 from Interstate 40 about ten miles and the church is located on the left of the highway (hwy. 223).

The WTHS April meeting will be held at 7 pm in the Memphis University School Wunderlich Auditorium. Memphis filmmaker and author, Willy Bearden will speak on the research and production of his current documentary, Victorian Village. For the first time in one of his films, Bearden is using actors for period recreations to capture the everyday lives of the Memphians who inhabited Victorian Village. He has previously produced documentaries about Overton Park, Elmwood Cemetery, the cotton business, and the Delta Blues.

WTHS Home Page	West Tennessee Historical Society Meeting Schedule September-December 2007 September 10, 2007 Monday, 7pm at the Memphis University School Wunderlich Auditorium. This will be a joint meeting of the WTHS and the Memphis Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. The presenter will be Bill Strong, Director of the Memphis Chapter of NRHS; the title will be “The History of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.” The M&C was Memphis’ first successful railroad and is the predecessor to the Southern Railroad and today’s Norfolk Southern Railroad. This was the first linkage by rail between the Atlantic Ocean and America’s great “inland sea,” the Mississippi River in 1858. All Memphians are familiar with its route which still runs along Southern Avenue, Poplar Avenue and Poplar Pike eastward to Germantown, Collierville, LaGrange, Huntsville, into Chattanooga. October 13, 2007 Our official WTHS meeting for October will be Saturday the 13th at Ames Plantation for the 10^th Annual Heritage Festival. This is a ‘come anytime’ (between 9 and 4) event that gathers artists and craftsmen, living history demonstrators and reenactors, musicians, and others for a glimpse at 19^th century life as it really was. Adult admission is $4.00, children 5-16 $2.00, under five free. (This is the only October meeting of the WTHS!) Ames Plantation is located five miles north of Grand Junction, Tennessee on Buford Ellington Road. For more information visit www.amesplantation.org. November 3, 2007 Our November meeting will be Saturday at 11am at the Catfish Restaurant and Steak House, 943 Main Street in Martin, Tennessee. (Phone 731-588-2700 if you get lost) This will be another joint meeting with the Jackson Purchase Historical Society. The speaker will be Dr. Timothy Smith, a former Shiloh National Park historian, who will speak on “The Story of Shiloh in Context,” which puts the battle into a proper perspective of nearly 150 years of Civil War histography. Not a microhistory of tactical moves, but a look at how our understandings and misunderstandings of Shiloh have evolved since April 1862. The Catfish House has a buffet lunch for around $10.00. December 10, 2007 Monday, 7pm at the Memphis University School Wunderlich Auditorium. Dr. Tim Sharp of the Rhodes College history faculty will speak to the WTHS about his book “Memphis Music Before the Blues.” This lecture will carry on our recent tradition of interesting and informative talks about the many musical styles and musicians in our region before we, then the country, and the world “caught the blues." January 5, 2008 The WTHS meeting on this day will be hosted by The Parkview located at 1914 Popular Ave., Memphis. The WTHS has been invited to a complementary lunch, a tour, and a historical overview of the Parkview. The meeting will begin with lunch at 11:30 am. The Parkview was a grand hotel in its early years and is now a gracious retirement community overlooking historic Overton Park. Reservations are not required, but we will need an approximate headcount. More details will follow in the January WTHS Newsletter. February 4, 2008 WTHS President, John Harkins, will present a slide-accompanied lecture to the society at its February 4, 2008 meeting. In conjunction with Black History Month and in anticipation of this spring's publication of Historic Shelby County, Dr. Harkins will speak on the memoir of Louis Hughes, entitled Thirty Years a Slave. Hughes was purchased in Virginia and brought to North Mississippi in his teens. He worked as a house servant on a plantation near Pontotoc and later as a butler in Shelby County, just southeast of Memphis. His detailed description of his life in both areas sheds a good deal of light on how Mid-South-area slaves lived in during the 1840s, '50s, and early '60s. Hughes's life story is well told and often dramatic, including his two attempts to escape from bondage. It also includes his ultimate escape from post-Appomattox Mississippi and his reunion with some of his family members after he moved north Lou Hughes published his recollections in the late-1890s and his book was reissued in a facsimile reprint in the late 1960s. Its text is available on line from several sources. Dr. Harkins expresses his thanks to former Shelby County Archivist John Dougan and Mr. Stoy Bailey for leading him to this invaluable primary source. Please make every effort to attend this lecture and to enjoy historical fellowship with like-minded West Tennesseans. The meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. in the Campus Center at Memphis University School, 6191 Park Ave, at the corner of Ridgeway Road. The meeting is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. March 1, 2008 The Black Creek Historical Society will host the March meeting just outside of Jackson, TN, at 11 am. Preservationist and President of the Society Mr. Billy J. King will give a presentation entitled "Historic Denmark." Mr. King's lecture will cover Denmark beginning in 1818, the Denmark Presbyterian Church (where the event will be held), the Masonic Lodge of Denmark, Denmark Church, Ebenezer Church, Brown Creek, migration patterns to Denmark, and the Battle of Britton Lane. A typical dinner from 100 years ago will be served around noon. The meal will consist of cornbread, black eyed peas, fried chicken, biscuits, molasses, and butter. A donation of five dollars per plate will go to help support the preservation of the Denmark Presbyterian Church. Reservations are not required, but we need an approximate headcount. To get to Denmark Presbyterian Church go south on exit 76 from Interstate 40 about ten miles and the church is located on the left of the highway (hwy. 223). April 7, 2008 The WTHS April meeting will be held at 7 pm in the Memphis University School Wunderlich Auditorium. Memphis filmmaker and author, Willy Bearden will speak on the research and production of his current documentary, Victorian Village. For the first time in one of his films, Bearden is using actors for period recreations to capture the everyday lives of the Memphians who inhabited Victorian Village. He has previously produced documentaries about Overton Park, Elmwood Cemetery, the cotton business, and the Delta Blues.
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