Hassan Najjar, executive director of the Museum Center at Five Points in Cleveland, Tenn., left, and Lisa Chastain, curator of collections, exam a recently donated 19th century amendment to the city’s charter that addresses concerns regarding upkeep of horses, protection of shade trees and gambling.CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Pieces of Cleveland and Hiwassee-area history recently were recovered through dedicated research and the preservation of a collection of records dating as far back as the 1840s.
The Museum Center at Five Points recently received a collection of 19th-century legal documents and city charter amendments donated by the Cleveland City Council. The collection was given to the city by Jo Day, widow of local columnist and cartoonist Ned Day.
“It’s a pretty nice find,” said Hassan Najjar, executive director of the museum. “It was like we were opening Christmas presents when we first got to unbox these old records.”
Most of the documents, primarily deeds and property transfers, date between 1880 and 1901, museum officials said.
One of the most interesting pieces is a list of amendments to the city’s first charter that were probably drafted between the 1840s and 1864, based on the frequent mention of “freemen” in the document, said Lisa Chastain, the museum’s curator of collections.