Historic Preservation Society of Tullahoma

03/05/2024

Meeting Announcement:

The Legend of Sadie Baker: Was She Really a Witch?

The public is welcome to join the next meeting of the Historic Preservation Society of Tullahoma where Lyle Russell will talk about Sadie Baker, a girl thought to be a beautiful green-eyed witch and still haunting us today. Join us to hear about his research on this often talked about topic and you can decide for yourself if she was a witch, the object of envy or at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Lyle Russell is the Deputy Director and City Forester for Tullahoma Parks and Recreation. He is also an author, historian, podcast host, wildlife educator, arborist, and co-founder of the Middle Tennessee Raptor Center. Originally from Tampa, Florida Lyle has been living in the local area since 2007.

The Historic Preservation Society of Tullahoma will meet on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at 6:00 pm in the front reception rooms of the South Jackson Performing Arts Center, 404 S. Jackson
Street, Tullahoma, TN.

Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Time: 6:00 pm
Where: South Jackson Performing Arts Center
404 S. Jackson Street
Tullahoma, TN

01/06/2024

It’s with great sadness that we share that our friend Marjorie Collier has passed away. She was a founding member of the Historic Preservation Society of Tullahoma and for many years, the Editor of the "Tullahoma Time-table". She was a true champion of preserving Tullahoma's history and worked diligently to get many buildings on the historic register. She made a difference in our community and will be greatly missed!

Her obituary can be found here:
https://www.kilgorefuneralhometullahoma.com/obituaries/Marjorie-Constance-Collier?obId=30266238

10/23/2023

Bedford and Coffee Counties’ Forgotten Distilleries

The public is welcome to join the next meeting of the Historic Preservation Society of Tullahoma where Carol Roberts will talk about a few of our “other” local distilleries that flourished in our area. She is the author of the recently published book, “A Dozen Tennessee Distilleries and “Old Sport”: Pre-Prohibition Distilleries of Bedford County Region”.

Bedford and Coffee County’s region was a premier geographic and agricultural location ideal for distilling. There are many interesting stories and histories of the distilleries in our area that are NOT Jack Daniel and George Dickel. Our region had so many distilleries that it required its own large staff of U.S. Internal Revenue inspectors. Carol Roberts, the Director of Bedford County Archives, will speak on these forgotten distilleries of our area. Carol returned home to Bedford County to continue a lifelong interest and hobby of research when she retired from the Tennessee State Library and Archives after 33 years of helping preserve and research the history of the state and of this region.

Date: Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Time: 6:00 pm
Where: South Jackson Performing Arts Center
404 S. Jackson Street
Tullahoma, TN

02/24/2023

The Historic Preservation Society of Tullahoma will meet on Saturday, February 25, at 1 PM at the home of Leslie Wurst at 502 Lake Hills Road in Tullahoma. Leslie will relate the story of her home, a bungalow/craftsman style house built by Walter Dennis Fox about 1910 overlooking Ovoca Falls. Ovoca was a 400-acre site established by the Knights of Pythias as a Home for their widows and orphans. K of P Grand Keeper of Records and Seals, Mr. Fox, of Irish descent, took the lead in establishing the Home which he named Ovoca after the river Avoca in Ireland.

The house is notable for its history and architecture and has been declared eligible for listing on The National Register of Historic Places by the Tennessee Historical Commission. The Fox-Wurst house may be reached by turning left off of Lake Hills Road onto Woodmont and parking in the driveway.

Date: Saturday, February 25, 2023
Time: 1:00 pm
Where: 502 Lake Hills Road, Tullahoma, TN

08/22/2022

Meeting Announcement:

At its next meeting on August 23, the Historic Preservation Society of Tullahoma will hear the story of Tullahoma's Regional Airport presented by Airport Manager Jon Glass.

The airport was established during World War II as a US Army air training base and was named in honor of Lt. William Lee Northern , Jr .on November 1, 1942. He was the first Tennessee pilot to lose his life in WW II when he was killed December 21, 1941 while flying his P-38 on patrol off San Diego, California.

After the war, the field of 1350 acres was declared surplus and it was purchased by the Tullahoma Development Corporation headed by John Harton, realtor and investor. Later the City of Tullahoma bought about half of that acreage, containing the runways and hangars for its
airport, which has been an important part of the city's history since then as Mr. Glass will relate.

Jon Glass, Tullahoma City Airport manager since 1999, is a graduate of MTSU with a major degree in Aerospace Administration and a minor in Economics. He worked several years as a technician at the Nashville Airport Authority. At Tullahoma he has overseen major improvements in runways and hangars and a new terminal. A 110 acre business park was completed. Activities have included major Air Shows, fly-overs and fly-ins. He was named Business Professional of the Year by the Lions Club in 2018.

The Historic Society meeting will be Tuesday, August 23, 2022 at 6 pm at the Tullahoma Airport Terminal. The talk will be preceded by a brief business meeting.

Date: Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Time: 6:00 pm
Where: Tullahoma Airport Terminal
807 William Northern Blvd.
Tullahoma, TN

04/24/2022

The Historic Preservation Society of Tullahoma will hear the story of Bedford Countian and World War II veteran, Austin Connor Shofner (1916-1999) at its April meeting. Shofner's military career began in 1941 when he was a lieutenant and military commander in the 4th Marine Regiment stationed in Shanghai, China. In November 1941, his regiment was transferred to the Philippines to assist the Philippine Army. His service was notable for his escape from a POW prison and his diary which provided a valuable war record. He participated in various Pacific Island battles, received many medals, and retired in 1959 with the rank of Brigadier General.

Shofner's story will be related by Steve Koenig who describes himself as having a life-long interest in history. Koenig met Gen. Shofner in 1990, a bond developed and the two spent much time together until the General's death. Steve, a graduate of the University of Tennessee, has had a long business career in banking, real estate, and other companies including a world-wide travel company in which Steve assists Carol, his wife of 42 years.

Historic Society members, guests, and interested public are invited to attend.

Date: Tuesday, April 26, 2022
Time: 6:00 pm
Where: Jody Baltz Building
502 S. Jackson Street,
Tullahoma, TN

02/22/2022

To members and friends of the Historic Preservation Society of Tullahoma:

Due to the recent surge of COVID, we will not have our regular February meeting. We will plan to meet the fourth Tuesday of April which will be April 26.

We will notify you of the time, place, and program closer to
the date. Sorry for the delay but we want our members to stay safe.

10/26/2021

Join us tonight for the meeting of the Historic Preservation Society of Tullahoma (HPST), where two speakers will examine the years 1940-1946 when Tullahoma was the scene of Camp Forrest, one of the largest US Army training bases during WWII.

The meeting will be held next Tuesday at 7pm at the Jody Baltz (former Red Cross) Bldg, 502 South Jackson Street. HPST members and the public are invited to attend.

HPST is pleased to welcome speakers Jeff Haley and John Allan.

Haley recalls hearing stories told by his grandfather and uncle who
worked at Camp Forrest and his families experience during this era.
Haley enjoys walking the grounds where it once stood and doing research.

Allan has always had an interest in local history and in Camp Forrest in particular. He recalls listening to Bob Couch's reminiscence of
Tullahoma during the war years. When Allan's son was writing a school paper about Camp Forrest, he and his son visited the site and his interest continued to grow. Allan has logged over 300 hours hiking the site. He was able to locate artifacts that were previously lost, including an anti-tank bazooka. Allan also located the precise site of the mock German village that the Ranger battalions trained in. He has been instrumental in helping the Army Corp of Engineers locate unexploded ordinances (UXO).

Historian and author, Elizabeth Taylor's collection of Camp Forrest
photographs and art work will be on display at the meeting.

These speakers believe it is important to remember the soldiers and the significant role Camp Forrest played during WWII.

06/28/2021

The June meeting of the Historic Preservation Society of Tullahoma will be held on Tuesday, June 29, at 7 pm at the Jody Baltz Historical Building (formerly Red Cross Building) at 502 S. Jackson St. in Tullahoma.

The Society will observe its 40th anniversary (actually 41st but observance delayed a year due to the COVID pandemic). HPST President Mark Schempp will speak on "State of the Society", its accomplishments and its future. A small gift will be presented to attendees.

Memberships, new or renewals, will be available at the meeting or at the Flower Shop at 212 W. Blackwell St.

Annual memberships are $25 or lifetime memberships are $250. A new issue of the Society's publication, Tullahoma Time-Table, is free to members or may be purchased for $10 and picked up at The Flower Shop.

Mailing address: PO Box 21, Tullahoma, TN 37388

05/06/2021

Hi Everyone - please consider donating to South Jackson Civic Center. We are raising money to refinish the auditorium floors and buy new seats. Wouldn't it be great if we could do this by 2022 when the auditorium turns 100 years old! There is just a $10 minimum donation.

Click the link below to donate or bring a check by the office. Thanks for helping to preserve the oldest school house in Tullahoma and keeping the arts alive!

Historical buildings represent an important part of remembering our past. This building holds wonderful memories for many people - either as a school (1886) or as a performing arts center (1979). After hearing about South Jackson growing up, I became personally involved after moving to town 20 years...

04/26/2021

The Historic Preservation Society of Tullahoma will meet next Tuesday, April 27, 2021 at 6:30 pm at D.W.Wilson Community Center in Tullahoma. Our speaker will be Dr. Jon Evans, Biology Professor at the University of the South at Sewanee. He will discuss Sinking Pond, an 86 acre, seasonally flooded karst depression at Arnold Air Force Base recognized as a National Natural Landmark for its biodiversity. A forested wetland, it is dominated by a disjunct population of overcup oak that is no longer regenerating throughout most of the pond. Dr. Evans talk will explore the reasons why these trees are disappearing and what it means for the future of this special natural area.

Dr. Evans has been a faculty member at Sewanee since 1994 and teaches courses in ecology, botany, and conservation biology. His research in plant ecology focuses on plant population dynamics and the processes that determine the composition and structure of plant communities over time and across landscapes. He also directs the Sewanee Herbarium which maintains an extensive vascular plant collection for the University's 13,000 acre campus and surrounding region.

Due to the Covid virus, many of our historic society memberships have expired and since April is our traditional annual membership month, we will accept membership renewals at the start of our meeting. Annual memberships are $25 and Life Memberships are $250. Members will receive a copy of a new 2016-2020 Time-Table. Extra copies are $10 each. Society officers will be elected. Please wear your mask. Room A-B is large enough to practice social distancing. Please plan to attend, hear this fine speaker, and renew your membership. Your support will help the Society to continue serving the community.