East Tennessee Historical Society Inc

TO PRESERVE, INTERPRET AND PROMOTE THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE, WITH FOCUS ON EAST TENNESSEE, IN ORDER TO EDUCATE AND CONNECT THE REGION, ITS PEOPLE, HISTORY, CULTURE AND HERITAGE.

ARTIFACTS AND EXHIBITS - ETHS MAINTAINS AN EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF CULTURAL ARTIFACTS, HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS, AND FOLK ART, CONCENTRATING ON ITEMS OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE TO EAST TN. IN 2021, ETHS SPENT $42,246 ON NEW PURCHASES AND CARE OF THE COLLECTION, AND RECEIVED GIFTS VALUED AT $17,550. ITS PERMANENT COLLECTION IS VALUED AT OVER $2 MILLION, WITH ADDITIONAL ITEMS VALUED AT OVER $3.9 MILLION ON LONG-TERM LOAN. DEPRECIATION AND MAINTENANCE COSTS ON A $3.5 MILLION SIGNATURE PERMANENT EXHIBIT COMPLETED IN 2010 "VOICES OF THE LAND: THE PEOPLE OF EAST TENNESSEE" TOTALED $151,847. MUSEUM VISITORS TO THE PERMANENT EXHIBIT AND A TEMPORARY EXHIBIT TOTALED 14,537 IN 2021, AND GENERATED REVENUE FROM ADMISSIONS OF $32,197. THE TEMPORARY EXHIBIT WAS "SHAVER-AN ARTIST OF RARE MERIT", FEATURING THE STORIES OF THE EAST TENNESSEANS WHOSE PORTRAITS WERE CAPTURED BY SAMUEL M SHAVER (1816-1878), THE REGION'S FIRST NATIVE-BORN ARTIST. ETHS EXTENDS THE LIFE AND REACH OF SELECTED EXHIBITS BY MAKING THEM AVAILABLE TO MUSEUMS, LIBRARIES AND UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE REGION AND IN OTHER STATES. ETHS SPENT $13,458 ON TEMPORARY EXHIBITS IN 2021. ETHS ALSO SPENT $4,600 TO COMPLETE A CHILDREN'S GALLERY FUNDED BY A $500,000 GRANT FROM THE STATE OF TN. THE GALLERY WAS OFFICIALLY OPENED AUGUST 27, 2021, WITH A RIBBON CUTTING ATTENDED BY REPRESENTATIVES OF ETHS, THE KNOXVILLE CHAMBER, AN EAST TENNESSEE LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION, KNOX COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, AND OTHER COMMUNITY PARTNERS.

EDUCATION - ETHS PROVIDES EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC (LECTURES, WORKSHOPS, FAMILY DAYS AT THE MUSEUM, A GENEALOGICAL SERIES), STUDENT PROGRAMS (AT THE MUSEUM AND IN CLASSROOMS), AND TEACHER PROGRAMS (VARIETY OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFERINGS WITH ASSOCIATED MATERIALS AND RESOURCES). IN 2021, ETHS PROVIDED PROGRAMS TO OVER 6,879 MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, 2,567 STUDENTS AND 603 TEACHERS. ABOUT 67% ATTENDED PROGRAMS AT ETHS; THE REST WERE OFF-SITE. IN ADDITION, ETHS PROVIDED INFORMATION AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO OVER 1.3 MILLION PERSONS THROUGH ITS WEBSITE AND E-NEWSLETTER. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS INTRODUCE STUDENTS OF ALL AGES TO EAST TENNESSEE'S HISTORY IN FUN, HANDS-ON, AND INTERACTIVE WAYS IN WHICH EUROPEANS, AFRICAN AND CHEROKEE CULTURES BLENDED TO CREATE THE FOOD WAYS AND STYLES OF EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY TENNESSEE, AND "BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER-CIVIL WAR DEBATE", WHERE STUDENTS ENGAGE IN AN 1861 TOWN SQUARE DEBATE ROLE-PLAYING UNION VS. SECESSION ORATORS. CUSTOM PROGRAMMING CAN INCLUDE WALKING TOURS WITH THEMES SUCH AS CULTURE, ECONOMICS, INDUSTRIALIZATION, AND THE CIVIL WAR, OR EXPLORATION INTO THE STUDENT'S OWN PERSONAL HISTORY. ETHS ALSO CONTINUES ITS SPECIAL HERITAGE PROGRAM "FIRST FAMILIES OF TENNESSEE", FOUNDED IN 1993 TO HONOR THE STATE'S FIRST RESIDENTS AND TO IDENTIFY THEIR DESCENDANTS. THE PROGRAM HAS OVER 16,900 MEMBERS FROM ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND EIGHT FOREIGN COUNTRIES. MEMBERSHIP IS OPEN TO ANYONE WHO CAN PROVE DIRECT DESCENT FROM A PERSON LIVING IN TENNESSEE BEFORE OR BY THE TIME OF STATEHOOD IN 1796. 241 NEW MEMBERS RECEIVED CERTIFICATES IN 2021, INCLUDING CERTIFICATES FOR THE COMPANION PROGRAM CIVIL WAR FAMILIES OF TENNESSEE, WHICH HAS ABOUT 1,300 MEMBERS.

PUBLICATIONS - ETHS DEVELOPS, PRINTS AND DISTRIBUTES "TENNESSEE ANCESTORS" SEMIANNUALLY (DOCUMENT TRANSCRIPTIONS, HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL ARTICLES), THE "JOURNAL OF EAST TENNESSEE HISTORY" ANNUALLY (SCHOLARLY MAGAZINE), AND "NEWSLINE" SEMIANNUALLY (INFORMATION ON ETHS AND OTHER REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS).