Dayton Public Library, historical organizations awarded grants

Grant funds from the Tennessee State Libary and Archives will help historical groups in Rhea and McMinn counties preserve irreplaceable documents and photos like this one of the Etowah Depot around 1907. Statewide, 29 governmental and nongovernmental groups received a portion of almost $100,000 in funds released this month.
Grant funds from the Tennessee State Libary and Archives will help historical groups in Rhea and McMinn counties preserve irreplaceable documents and photos like this one of the Etowah Depot around 1907. Statewide, 29 governmental and nongovernmental groups received a portion of almost $100,000 in funds released this month.
photo Grant funds from the Tennessee State Libary and Archives will help historical groups in Rhea and McMinn counties preserve irreplaceable documents and photos like this one L&N Railroad workers in McMinn County standing before a massive locomotive. Statewide, 29 governmental and nongovernmental groups received a portion of almost $100,000 in funds released this month.

OTHER GRANT RECIPIENTS

Governmental organizations› Blount County Register of Deeds: $1,500› Blount County Archives: $7,000› Claiborne County Archives: $5,000› Dyer County Archives: $7,000› Giles County Old Records Department: $1,000› Houston County Archives: $7,000› Lincoln County Archives: $4,000› Maury County Archives: $2,982› Moore County Archives: $3,000› Morgan County Archives: $4,000› Monroe County Archives: $2,300› Trousdale County Archives: $3,000› Stewart County Archives: $4,400› Williamson County Archives: $5,000› Wilson County Archives: $3,500Nongovernmental organizations› Bemis Mill Village (Madison County): $3,700› Clay County Museum: $1,500› Heritage Alliance of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia (Washington County): $3,000› Methodist Church, Tennessee Conference (Davidson County): $3,043› Ornamental Metal Museum (Shelby County): $3,300› Scarritt Bennett Center (Davidson County): $2,000› Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives (Davidson County): $1,000› Stax Museum (Shelby County): $2,700› Tennessee Walking Horse National Museum (Bedford County): $3,300› Travellers Rest Historic House (Davidson County): $1,725› University of Memphis, C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa (Shelby County): $3,000Source: Tennessee State Library and Archives

A public library and two historical groups in Southeast Tennessee netted a combined $6,500 of almost $100,000 in state grant funding aimed at improving preservation of public records and historical documents.

Two of the organizations are in Rhea County and another is in McMinn County, according to the list of recipients released this week by the Tennessee State Library and Archives. The Dayton Public Library in Rhea County got $1,000, the Etowah Historical Commission in McMinn County got $2,500, and the Rhea County Historical and Genealogical Society got $2,500.

Officials said these funds are typically used to pay for items such as shelving, cabinets, archival folders, boxes, dehumidifiers and tools used by archivists.

The state agency awarded a total of $95,500 in archival development grant funds to 29 organizations across the state, officials said. Most of the governmental recipients were county archives, the nearest to Chattanooga being in Monroe and Moore counties.

"These grant funds help county archives and other organizations that keep historical records undertake projects that improve the way those records are collected and stored," Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett said in a statement on the grants.

Library director Kay Madewell said the $1,000 awarded to the Clyde W. Roddy Library in Dayton will preserve historical collections.

"I am looking to preserve the historical collection on Dayton Coal & Iron and two [local] families," Madewell said. Coal company records and historical information collected on the Rhea County families of Seth Tallent and Pat and Virginia Kelly will be preserved, she said.

Madewell said a larger grant application is in the works for digitizing the collections and making them available online in the next phase of the project. The library will team up later with the local historical group in that work.

Tom Davis, with the Rhea County Historical and Genealogical Society, said the $2,500 the group was awarded is paying for conservation of some of the society's historical documents.

"This is just a Godsend for the historical society because we have a wealth of information that we have collected over the years but we've never had any training in conservation," Davis said. State library officials did a workshop for the group last fall, and local officials will continue to build on what they learned, he said.

Jacob Ellis, a Bryan College master's-level student in archival fields, is working with society members on some of the conservation work. Davis said Ellis brings enthusiasm to the effort.

Historical commission officials in Etowah, Tenn., like their counterparts in Rhea County, plan to learn more about conserving records and documents. Grant funds also will help purchase archival storage containers for the irreplaceable records being kept at the historic Etowah Depot where the Old Line Railroad last year celebrated its 125th anniversary, according to Jim Caldwell, with the Etowah Historical Commission.

"We want to use the best archival practices possible. We've sent one of our [people] for training and we asked for a professional archivist to give us some leadership also," Caldwell said.

"This is a huge start and it will give us an opportunity to show the progress and importance of the project," he said, noting the work probably will help the group get more grant funding from other sources in the future.

Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.

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