Center for Historic Preservation

Heritage Development Initiatives

Programs administered by the Center for Historic Preservation include the following:

Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area (TCWNHA) is a statewide program dedicated to telling the whole story of America's greatest challenge through interpretation and preservation of Tennessee's Civil War and Reconstruction legacies.  A partnership unit of the National Park Service, the TCWNHA is one of 24 Congressionally-designated national heritage areas.

Tennessee Slave Housing Survey  has located and documented the dwellings used by African-Americans in Tennessee during the period of slavery.  This includes separate houses, rooms above kitchens or other outbuildings, garret rooms, and basement spaces where slaves lived.

Tennessee Century Farms Program identifies, documents, and recognizes farms owned by the same family for at least 100 years. To date, nearly 900 farms representing every county have been certified.  The CHP maintains the Century Farm database of information and photographs, most of which is based on applications supplied by the farm families.

Tennessee Rural African-American Church Survey Project has documented nearly 400 churches.  The initial survey resulted in the creation of a contextual history and, as a result, individual churches continue to be nominated and placed in the National Register.  Rural churches, often with adjacent historic cemeteries and/or schools, are extremely valuable places to study and document African-American culture and heritage.

The Heritage Education Network (THEN) is a website for educators at heritage organizations and in K-12 classrooms across the country.  With visuals, lesson plans, activities, work sheets, and selected publications and links, it is a practical site for exploring ways to incorporate local history into the classroom.

 

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