Historical Society
It is unfortunate that minutes of their meetings were not preserved but from time to time articles appeared in local newspapers that told of interesting programs and projects. In one of its first meetings, held on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 1905, the Society heard a paper prepared by "the late Senator W. C. Whitthorne" on "When and How the State of Tennessee Became a Member of the Confederacy." It was stated that noone was in a better position to relate this case since Senator Whitthorne had been the Speaker of the Tennessee House and Adjutant-General at the time and "had the esteem and confidence of the leaders of both great political parties." Steps were taken by the Society to preserve artifacts that could be used to form a museum. Donations of many items were listed: "From Mr. John A. Edwards: an illustrated historical chart of the Great West, published 1847, containing valuable statistical and historical information; from George T. Nevills: a Confederate bullet from the battlefield of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the highwater mark of the Confederacy, in which is mounted microscopal views of Gen. Meade's headquarters and the scene of Pickett's immortal charge; from Mrs. Martha Connor, of Hampshire, (a granddaughter of Maj. Gen. Richard Winn, of revolutionary fame) a handsome volume of Goodspeed's History of Tennessee, comprising the histories of Maury county and other counties; from Flem Thomas: the original order book of his grandfather, Colonel Jonas E. Thomas of Maury County, commanding the regiment of Tennessee Cavalry in the Mexican War; from Rev. W. A. Provine, Phelan's History of Tennessee, from the library of the late N. B. Cheairs." The following new members were listed at that meeting: John Brown, A. J. Nichols, Will P. Boyd, Lynch Perry, Dr. E. A. Timmons, John Trotwood Moore, Raymond Adkisson, John W. Fry, Horace Rainey, Hon. Lem. P. Padgett, Albert S. Hames, Prof. A. J. Hibbett, J. Shelby Coffey, Wm. B. Greenlaw, F. Cooper Frierson, A. N. Akin, Dr. H. P. Robbins, Atwell Thompson and H. Allison Webster. (Still no ladies!!) Another item of interest was the report of a committee named "to take steps to prevent the removal of the remains of Governor Meriweather Lewis to Oregon." The commitee reported that "resolutions protesting against such removal had been secured from the County courts, and a letter was read from Governor John I. Cox saying he would not permit the remains to be removed." (The above quotes are from THE DAILY HERALD, Wednesday, November 15, 1905 but might have been taken from a current news article since the same attempt has been made lately.) The collection of items for the museum continued to be one of the objectives of the Society, especially of Prof. Frank H. Smith. Later, he published the list of items in the collection and it took two or three long articles in the newspaper to mention them all. There were dozens of coins of various nations and denominations, relics of most of the wars in which former citizens of Maury County had fought, books and newspapers that contained much historic material, personal articles related to former citizens, letters, items of clothing, household items, etc. Unfortunately, no record has been found relating what happened to this material. With the death of Mr. Smith and the demise of the original Historical Society, was this very valuable material given to the State Museum, to the State Archives, or some other agency, or did it simply disappear? Anybody have an answer? What a treasure trove of irreplacable Maury County history was lost!! The Society remained active until about 1915, when, for whatever reason, it was dissolved. No further organized activities seem to have been carried out in its name for half a century. Then, in 1964, a committee was formed to promote the reactivation of the Maury County Historical Society. A committee, composed of Virginia Alexander, Alice Algood, Dr. C. Y. Clarke, Jill K. Garrett, Franklin Fulton, Marise Lightfoot, Evelyn Shackleford and Judge W. B. Turner was appointed to prepare for reorganization. When the list of "Charter Members" was closed a few months later, sixty-six persons were enrolled as members. Marise P. Lightfoot was elected President and Jill K. Garrett was chosen to be Editor of the new quarterly, HISTORIC MAURY. Through the past 34 years Maury County Historic Society has met regularly and has carried out a variety of projects within the scope of its chartered atributes.
In 1971, the Society received a donation of historic Vine Hill estate from Mrs. Charles Deere Wiman. It was Mrs. Wiman's ancestral home located between Cross Bridges and Williamsport. She had restored the home, furnished it with antiques from all over the world and had lived in the home for some years. When she passed away, the home, its furnishings and surrounding acreage was willed to Maury County Historical Society. This large and imposing structure is one of Maury County's famous antebellum homes and is often opened for tours at special times during the year. In 1992 it became increasingly difficult for the Society to care for the place and it was decided to sell the property, invest the funds and use the income from the principle to carry out projects within the Society's sphere of interest. Although the Society lost a permanent "home of its own", it gained the means by which it could assist many worthwhile projects. Today there are more than 400 members of the Society, almost half of whom live outside Maury County. Recently the Maury County Historical Society has secured space on the third floor of the Memorial Building on West Seventh Street in Columbia. The space gives us a place to hold small meetings, store our materials and have a place we can call "home". If you are not a member, we invite you to join the Maury County Historical Society. Just click on: |
