NEWS - March 24, 2024
LETTER FROM KEVIN WOLFE - THE PRESIDENT OF THE CCHGS
September 03, 2009
Many residents of Claiborne County may not realize that we have an
Historical and Genealogical Society and what we have been doing
lately. I am writing this to get past members up to date and to let
the citizens of the county know as well.
We at the society are dedicated to preserving and educating the public
about the history of our county as well as providing research
resources and assistance in tracing family trees in the area. In the
past 2 years we have been concentrating on getting our offices up to
speed and I am proud to report that this has been accomplished and
we are operational. We do not have funding for a full time staff yet
but we hope to in the future. The phone number to our office is
(423) 526-5737 and we will try to respond to questions left on our
voice mail as soon as possible.
In the past year we have attended the reenactment of the battle of
Cumberland Gap a well as the battle of Tazewell. At these events I was
happy to see a great interest from the public as well as several of
our members from out of state come. We are publishing our quarterly
newsletter, "Reflection'' and delivering these to our members in over
20 states. Several of these members have been encouraged to come to
the area and research their families and have come here to enjoy what
Claiborne County has to offer.
Many people do not realize what that brick building beside 1st Century
Bank in Tazewell is. It is actually the Claiborne County jail built
in 1819. It the oldest remaining free standing jail in the state of
Tennessee and is actually one of the oldest jails left in the United
States. It was in operation from 1819 until 1932 when the jail was
moved to the 3rd floor of the new county courthouse. After that it
was used for a short time as a candy store and finally as a storage
area for the county. It is in a serious state of neglect and we have
tried for 4 years to get grant money from the state in order to begin
restoration. We have had preservation architects come and evaluate
the building and the estimate 1st phase of the restoration will be
approximately $100,000. Of this amount the historical Society will
have to raise a 40% of it to qualify for the grant money. We have
raised a portion of it from curtail tours and money that was donated
to us from the county but there is still a ways to go to get the ball
rolling. The need for members and volunteers to help clean the jail
up inside and out is very important and needed desperately.
This fall we are organizing presentations by several of our members
and local historians. These will be focused on local, state, and
national topics varying from the civil war to early settlement. We
plan to begin these in September and have 1 per month. Also this
fall we plan to have a history fair which will include a Civil war
encampment presentation and artifacts on display in the area of the
building which we are hoping to open as the new Claiborne County
museum. We are still in the planning stages of this event and will
get out a firm itinerary as soon as we can.
There are a lot of events planned to bring people to our county. This
is not the Historical and Genealogical Society of the past. We are
dedicated to bringing the past alive and to let people know about
Claiborne county. The subject of history, especially local history,
is woefully under emphasized in schools today. We need to keep the
rich history of this county alive for the next generation and we need
your help to accomplish this. The Historical Society is publicly
funded, relying on donations from the County and it's citizens. The
county has been gracious enough to grant us operating money for years
but with present financial considerations this may be cut so we will
have to rely on the public donations and membership fees more. I don't
mean to make this sound like a plea for money because I understand
that times are tough on everyone but we don't only need money, we
need you. We need people to help with clean up of the "Old Jail'' and
to help out with the events we have planned. lf you have an interest
in history and a little time to spare please contact us and let us
know we would be glad to have mu. The Claiborne County Historical
society is meant to be for all the citizens of this county not just
a few.
Kevin Wolfe - CCHGS President
Historical Society Has Deed to Old Jail
From The Claiborne Progress Online - Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Congratulations are in order to the Claiborne County Historical and
Genealogical Society because it now holds the deed to the historical
Old Jail located in Tazewell located on what was once a back street
of the town of Tazewell but now is Highway 33.
The Old Jail next to Century Bank sits unoccupied and in bad need of
renovation and repair.
The announcement came by Patricia Brooks, President of the CCHGS at
the July meeting of the Society and she and the Society would like to
express their thanks to County Mayor Virgil Harrell and the county
commissioners who worked to see that the Old Jail would be saved for
future generations of Claiborne County residents and non-residents to
learn more of the County's historic past.
This news comes almost in perfect unison with the opening of the
newest of Claiborne County's
facilities, the new Jail and Detention Center located on Straight
Creek Road.
From Goodspeed's History of Claiborne County -
"The first jail was
completed at about the same time as the courthouse - 1804. It was
used until 1819, when Josiah C. Ramsey, John Evans, William Graham,
William Renfro, Robert Crockett, David Rogers and Reuben Rogers were
appointed commissioners to erect a new jail. It was built with a
double wall, the outside being rock and the inside frame."
The Claiborne County Historical and Genealogical Society would ask
that all concerned readers please help in the restoration efforts that
will soon be underway lead by the CCHGS. This can be by individual
donations to the Old Jail Project specifically or by joining the
Society and contributing with your attendance and ideas of how this
and other projects concerning preservation of County historical
landmarks can be accomplished. Funding and support of these efforts
are of utmost importance.
You can send your contributions to the
CCHGS,
P.O Box 32,
Tazewell, Tennessee 37879
and look for our booth at the upcoming Claiborne County
Fair in August .
The annual dues of the Society are $12.50 for single, $15 for family
and $1 for students. Prospective members should visit the website
http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnccths/ for more membership information.
Article Dated - 8/20/2003
Courtesy - The Claiborne Progress Newspaper
Article and Photo Provided Courtesy - Tina Cooke
A monument was dedicated to an Oak tree, believed to be 350-400
years old in the Hopper Cemetery in the Leatherwood Community on
Saturday, July 12th, 2003.
The Claiborne County Historical and Genealogical Society dedicated the
monument and declared the Oak tree a Historical Landmark. The purpose
of the Society is to collaborate with Claiborne County residents as
well as local, state, and federal organizations to preserve county
history in all forms.
Joyce Ramsey, the society's president, said the motto of the society is
"We are products of our Past." She went on to say they were pleased to
recognize the magnificent old Oak tree and that it was the oldest
thing they had been asked to acknowledge.
A brief history of the cemetery was presented and the veterans buried
in the cemetery were recognized. Revolutionary War, Civil War, World
War I, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War Veterans are all
buried in the cemetery.