The Chattanooga History Center connects to the past, present, and future by exploring the land, rivers, and people of this place.
Information
- Location:
- Chattanooga, TN, 37403
- Phone:
- 423-265-3247
- Mon - Fri:
- 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Events
3 past eventsSee All
- The History Makers Luncheon
Chattanooga Convention Center
Wednesday, November 18 at 11:30am - Nicely Tour: The Big Nine
Meet at First Congregational Church...
Tuesday, October 27 at 6:00pm - Imagining the West
Hunter Museum of American Art
Thursday, July 9 at 6:00pm
Stewart Payne A fine organization honoring a fine bunch of guys/gals! Check them out...
Chattanooga History Center
The Chattanooga History Center will honor Fletcher Bright and the Dismembered Tennesseans as the recipients of its 4th Annual History Makers Award. The award recognizes local individuals or groups who have made significant contributions to Chattanooga, the region, the state, or the country. The 2009 honorees were cho...sen for the contributions they have made to southern regional music, both as cultural preservationists and musical entertainers.
The Dismembered Tennesseans were organized in 1946 and have played continuously throughout the past 63 years. Bright was not, he said, the original bandleader. That was a classmate, Sammy Joyce, “...and I,” Bright said affectionately, referring to co-founder and emcee Frank McDonald who died in 2000, “was just a sideman till after Frank McDonald died.” There is little question, however, that Bright was a driving force, and responsible for the band’s longevity, which, he says, is attributable to the fact that “we are all good friends.” As young bluegrass musicians, Bright and his band member friends searched out opportunities to study the music that had captivated them in every way that was available to them. There was little written music to pick up in a music store, and learning involved listening carefully to the radio and records. Often, however, the fast tempo made it impossible to figure out exactly what the musicians were doing, and Bright began to seek out meetings with noted players in the broader Chattanooga area, northeast Tennessee, and southwest Virginia.
Bright maintains that he has always played because “it’s fun.” Sixty-three years of playing in concerts, on the radio, for parties, and in festivals has, however, significantly contributed to the continued development of traditional regional music. There have been periods during those years when it receded into the back of public consciousness, and could have, without a persistent few like Fletcher Bright and the Dismembered Tennesseans, faded out completely. Though we speak of the group as cultural preservationists, it is well recognized that culture cannot, and should not, be preserved as it is at any given moment, but is in constant change. If it stops changing, it has already died, and preservation only means safeguarding what physical evidence remains. Gathering musical knowledge from the best in the region, and using what he learned in public performance, Bright and the band kept a cultural element alive and in motion.
Individual Tickets-$45, Table Sponsorships-$500 and up
Honoring Fletcher Bright & The Dismembered Tennesseans
Time:11:30AM Wednesday, November 18th
Location:Chattanooga Convention Center
Chattanooga History Center
Join Dr. Clark White & Dr. Daryl Black for our popular Nicely Tour: The Big Nine. Call now to reserve your spot; this walk fills up fast!
Fee: $3 Registration deadline: Oct. 23
Tour route and content were developed by Maury Nicely in his book, Chattanooga Walking Tour and Historic Guide. The tour will last about 1... to 1 1/2 hours and will include pauses to talk about points of interest.
Just after the Civil War, the area, which was at the southeast border of the town limits, was the site of a number of African-American homes and called “Scruggs Town” after an African American businessman who owned many of the houses. Subsequently, the street was named Ninth Street, colloquially known to local residents as “The Big Nine.” For many years, it was the center of African American life in Chattanooga. Area businesses included the Martin Hotel (which housed many famous African American performers such as Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole), Lowery Five & Dime, and the L&G Diner. In 1982, the street was widened to four lanes to handle traffic congestion, and the name changed to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The wider street became a major thoroughfare, destroying the neighborhood ambience of the area.
The tour route also includes the Joel W. Solomon Federal Building (site of the Jimmy Hoffa jury-tampering trial), and the Randolph Miller historic marker.
Repeated Due to Popular Demand
Time:6:00PM Tuesday, October 27th
Location:Meet at First Congregational Church, on the corner of Lindsay St. and Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
Chattanooga History Center We had a fantastic time at the Hunter last night. Great crowd. Good time. Look for more Art and History events to come.
Chattanooga History Center "Western history is a story structured by the drawing of lines and the marking of borders." Patricia Limerick -- discuss this and other ideas about the west as image and life in the west with Drs. Daryl Black and Andrea Becksvoort at the Hunter Museum of
Chattanooga History Center Check out CHC's Blogspot
chattanoogahistorycenter.blogspot.com
This week marks the anniversary of the first involuntary departures of Cherokees from Ross's Landing. On June 6, 1838 an estimated 800 people were forced onto 6 flatboats lashed to a steamboat. According to witnesses, the boats creaked and beams cracked under the load. ...
Chattanooga History Center
Presented in partnership with the Hunter Museum of American Art and the UTC Department of History, and in conjunction with the Hunter’s exhibit, Window on the West.
Speakers: Dr. Daryl Black, CHC Executive Director, and Dr. Andrea Becksvoort, UTC Department of History
Fee: $9.95 for general public (regular Hunter Museum ...admission)
Free to CHC and Hunter members
Explore the real West as it compares your imagined view of it.
Time:6:00PM Thursday, July 9th
Location:Hunter Museum of American Art
