We are excited to offer two Homeschool Days this Spring! On April 10, we’ll have our third Homeschool Day with history-based activities throughout town. On May 10, we’ll have a full day at Oak Hill School. Registration is open now and the registration forms for both days are attached to this email. Read below for more information. We hope to see you in Jonesborough this Spring!
The Heritage Alliance is excited to offer two days for homeschool students this spring. On Wednesday, April 10, we’ll host our third Homeschool Day. History and heritage based activities are planned from 9:00am – 3:30pm that day and will offer a wide variety of experiences for multiple ages. Students from first grade through senior year of high school are encouraged to come and experience history with their families in Tennessee’s Oldest Town.
Activities include Town Tours, an Old Jonesborough Cemetery Tour, and hands-on activities with artifacts in the Jonesborough/Washington County History Museum. In addition, students can explore primary sources at the Chester Inn State Historic Site and Museum, learn all about the railroad at the Chuckey Depot Museum, and listen to a Storyteller. Oak Hill School will be open for mini-lessons on Homeschool Day, but students will have a chance to participate in a full day at Oak Hill School on Friday, May 10.
Oak Hill School was built in 1886 to serve the community of Knob Creek. The building served local residents until it was closed in the 1950s. The school building was moved the seven miles from Knob Creek to Jonesborough and placed in its current location behind the Visitors Center. Today, Oak Hill School invites students to come for a day-long field trip and enroll in school in 1893. Reading, writing, arithmetic, history, geography – even the pledge of allegiance – are all as they were prior to the turn of the last century.
School will last from 9:00am – 2:00pm on May 10. This program is limited to 26 students, grades 1st – 12th, so sign up now!
Registration is now open for Homeschool Day (April 10) and the day at Oak Hill School (May 10) at www.heritageall.org. The cost is $7 per student for Homeschool Day and $5 per student for the day at Oak Hill School. Students must register for both days in advance. We cannot accept registration the day of the event.
On November 7, 89 eighth graders packed into the library at Jonesborough Middle School to accompany Annette Broadacre on her sojourn through Jonseborough in 1856 in A Sojourn in Jonesborough, an original play written by Anne G’Fellers-Mason. The Heritage Alliance was invited to perform by Social Studies and English teacher Mr. Anderson. The Heritage Alliance has two, primary source-based theatrical pieces that can travel to schools,
A Sojourn in Jonesborough and “Things Are Changing,” (a twoperson show focusing on local teacher Julia Bullard Nelson and the changing roles of gender and race in education at the turn of the 20th century).
A Sojourn in Jonesborough is based on the travelogue “Winter in the South” by David Strother as published in Harpers Monthly Magazine. The play picks up where the serial leaves off in Jonesborough, with the women
of the Broadacre family wishing to remain in town. Sojourn recreates what Main Street Jonesborough may have looked like in the year 1856. After the performance, students asked questions including, “What type of primary sources were used to create the show? Where can you find primary sources? What’s an archive? What societal
changes have taken place since the mid-1800s? What was the most surprising thing learned through the research? Why was Annette selected to be the narrator? Why did anyone think hoop skirts were ever a good thing?” Several students voiced an interest in wanting to volunteer for the Heritage Alliance.
Mr. Anderson shared, “The performance by the Heritage Alliance at Jonesborough Middle School provided
students with a first-hand account of how primary sources can be used in today’s world. Students focus on dissecting
primary sources in US History and understanding life in the 1700s and 1800s. Also, the use of storytelling in English class is a key element in understanding how characters and stories develop over time. A Sojourn in Jonesborough gave students an opportunity to see all of these elements working together to create a performance they won’t soon forget.”
Performances of A Sojourn in Jonesborough and “Things Are Changing” are available for local classrooms. To learn more about our educational programs, visit www.heritageall.org/education/. We are dedicated to providing educational experiences related to the history and preservation of our region. The Heritage Alliance actively cooperates with schools and school groups to teach history both outside and inside of the classroom.
The Jonesborough Washington County History Museum and Archives was recently awarded a grant for $1800 to digitize its extensive photographic and negative collection. The grant is funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) and administered by the Tennessee Historic Resources Advisory Board (THRAB) and Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA). Its purpose is to improve the preservation of and access to Tennessee’s historical records.
The collection spans the history of Jonesborough and Washington County from the first photographer in town, L.W. Keen c. 1850, to the beginning of the preservation movement in the 1970s and 1980s. It was built on the collection of the Civic Trust as well as the extensive Fink-Dulaney Collection, but also includes many donations by private individuals in the community.
We are constantly looking for new images to add to the collection, especially images from 1920 to 1970 which is the main gap. This grant will allow for digitizing these original images as well as expanding the collection by scanning new images added to the collection in the future. This will make the vast collection more accessible and better tell the story of Jonesborough and Washington County.
The restoration of Sabine Hill, a historic property in Elizabethton, will be the topic of the final History Happy Hour for the 2018 season.
Sycamore Shoals State Park manager Jennifer Bauer will be the speaker at History Happy Hour on Thursday, November 15th. Originally built by Mary Patton Taylor, Sabine Hill features a prominent federal style house that has been restored to its 1818 appearance by the Tennessee Historical Commission. The operation of Sabine Hill is managed by Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park in Elizabethton.
History Happy Hour is a collaborative program in its second year at the Chester Inn Museum. The programs are on the 3rd Thursday each month at 6:30 pm, and they are free and open to the public. This month’s presentation will be held at the International Storytelling Center beside the Chester Inn Museum. This is the final Happy Hour for 2018 but keep an eye out for the 2019 schedule!
This December marks the second year for the Colors of Christmas: Historic Tour and Dinner event! In 2017, the Heritage Alliance partnered with the Town of Jonesborough to merge the Holiday Tour of Homes and the Progressive Dinner into one elegant evening. We had a wonderful time and learned a lot last year, and thanks to those of you who completed the after survey, we have made modifications designed to bring you great cheer! We’re excited to continue this partnership in 2018. Mark your calendars for Saturday, December 1st, and get ready to ring in the Holiday season in Jonesborough!
The Colors of Christmas: Historic Tour and Dinner opens several historic structures in Jonesborough, each decorated in Holiday finery. Guests can choose to tour only or have the option of a fine dining experience benefiting the Heritage Alliance’s education and preservation programs….but why not do both? Two seating times will be available for the four-course, Dinner portion of the evening, 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Guests will enjoy appetizers in the Historic Inns of Jonesborough from 4:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. before being bused to the McKinney Center to continue the celebration with delicious food, festive live music, and camaraderie. Whether you choose to Tour only, Dine only or combine both, the Colors of Christmas is the ultimate kick-off to the Holiday season in Jonesborough.
Tickets are only available through the Historic Jonesborough Visitors Center and can be purchased on line at https://townofjonesborough.thundertix.com/events/136373 or by calling 423-753-1010. Once you have purchased your tickets, we will send you information specific to your seating.
The restoration of a building does more than repair old walls and ceilings; it rebuilds connections, strengthens community and restores the spirit. Not only will you be celebrating restoration during the Colors of Christmas, you’ll also be supporting two, worthwhile causes. Your Colors of Christmas Dinner ticket helps to fund the preservation and education mission of the Heritage Alliance. The Colors of Christmas Tour helps the Town of Jonesborough fund the many free events, such as “At Home with Santa”, dedicated to children throughout the year.
The Colors of Christmas: Historic Tour and Dinner celebrates the many good things that result when we join together for the benefit of all. It is fun, it is festive, and it is fulfilling.