Statements

Mission

The mission of the Granville Museum, in Granville, TN, is to function as a repository for artifacts, historical information and genealogy related to families in local and surrounding communities. The site will serve as a resource for historical collections. The museum will use interesting, educational approaches to display, present, and interpret Granville's unique past and its people for the enjoyment of present and future generations. To accomplish this mission, the Granville Museum will: Create a place where people of all ages and various backgrounds can view and appreciate the work of local artists. The exhibitions and programs will be designed to strengthen and sustain the talents of these regional artists. Preserve and promote bluegrass, gospel, classic, country and old time music through Saturday night concerts and community festivals. Record and display the military stories, including World War II maneuvers and describe their impact on the local community. Honor the area's unique riverboat and farming heritage. Serve as a storytelling site to enhance the area's oral history. And, allow visitors to experience a simpler life as they step back in time.

Background

In 1999 a group of concerned local citizens joined together to preserve the history of Granville, Tennessee as well as preserve the former Granville Church of Christ building which has also served as a private school building. This was a major endeavor for a community of 250 people but was accomplished far beyond our dreams. In five short months, a local board was formed, a building was remodeled and historical items were gathered for the first Granville Heritage Day on Saturday, May 29, 1999. This was accomplished through private gifts, with no government assistance. In 2001, a building was added to the side to house a farm implement museum. This has now developed into an agricultural heritage Farm to Table Museum showcasing a 1943 Ezell Dairy milk delivery truck. A two-story addition to the museum was completed in 2003 which contains a military room, genealogy resources, music displays, along with a restroom on the first floor. The second floor is a replica of a one-room school. An exhibition room has been added to house traveling and temporary exhibits. Historic Granville now has a historic home, pioneer village, craftsmen building showcasing local artists demonstrating lost art crafts, an antique car and transportation museum, a Mayberry and I love Lucy Museum, a Granville Whiskey Decanter Museum, and has managed to preserve the local buildings that tell the history of the town prior to Cordell Hull Lake. We now host four major festivals with five minor festivals, produce Mayberry plays three times annually, and a bluegrass dinner show every Saturday night. These festivals include one of Tennessee's largest car shows, a motorcycle show, a quilt festival, jazz and bluegrass. festival. May 2021 Heritage Day had about 10,000 people in attendance. We have an ongoing "Friends of the Museum" campaign where citizens and volunteers may donate to the Museum. Our current three times a year newsletter has a database of about 10,000. Our volunteer list contains about 200 names. TB Sutton General Store, an award-winning 1880's general store continues to be the anchor for this historic destination. Historic Granville hosts school days for local students, customize tours for senior groups and serves food daily. All this has been accomplished since 1999 on a minimum budget with volunteers.

Impact

This story includes, but is not limited to, a rich river boat history, strong agricultural ties, World War II maneuvers, small-town life, a diverse musical history, and detailed genealogy. We sponsor annual festivals, on-going cultural and artistic events utilizing all our sites; a general museum, Farm to Table Museum, Historic Home, Pioneer Village with cabin, barns, craftsmen building, antique car and transportation museum, and cottage garden, Mayberry and I Love Lucy Museum, Granville Whiskey Decanter Museum, Clemons Car Museum, Whistle Stop Saloon, Granville Broom Works, Granville Textile Shop, and showcases the 1880 general store, TB Sutton General Store. We draw thousands of visitors to the area each year thus having a positive economic impact on the community. Our programs serve a diverse population of varied ages, backgrounds, cultures, and knowledge levels. The Granville Museum, Inc. was formed in 1999 to preserve the history of the historic riverboat town of Granville, Tennessee. We have endeavored to preserve our historic buildings as well as host three annual cultural events to promote the arts in the Upper Cumberland area. Being in a rural county, our museum has met the needs of all ages, races, and income levels. We have preserved the past by producing a DVD of the history of Granville, a storytelling video, publishing a pictorial history, a Legacy of Granville History Book, and cookbooks. Our museum showcases the lifestyle of Granville in earlier days focusing on business, families and homes, churches, schools, military, and agriculture. Our largest event of the year, Heritage Day, preserves the past and carries the story into the future with craftsmen demonstrations, Civil War reenactment, storytelling, bluegrass festival, and antique cars, tractors and engines shows. In October we conduct 'Jazz on the Cumberland' where we have professional musicians as well as high school and college bands performing on a stage at Granville Veterans Park on the banks of the Cumberland River. On this same day we have a Quilt Festival preserving the talent of the past and promoting the current talent with competition and seminars. The Scarecrow Festival and the Craftsmen Festival is an October month-long event. In December we host Granville Country Christmas which promotes musical talents of locals and invited guests. We were given the Sutton General Store in 2007 and opened in April 2008 as a operating store Wednesday thru Saturday. Sutton Ole Time Music Hour, a dinner bluegrass show, broadcast each Saturday night to every state, on the world-wide web, and goes to all military bases. Our dining room offers storytelling and plays. The Sutton General Store is the home of the Granville Arts and Cultural Center which encourages, promotes, and facilitates the arts in the area while offering a glimpse into Granville's past.

Needs

1. Funding for staff and social media consultants 2. Development of programs to attract a younger audience 3. Funds to develop and enhance exhibits to preserve our history and tell our story incorporating more relevant strategies 4. Funds to add more relevant modern-day programming to festivals

CEO Statement

Granville Museum is a volunteer organization and does not employ an Executive Director.

Board Chair Statement

The Granville Museum and the town of Granville are both very unique as they draw visitors who take a stroll down memory lane. Settled in 1799, Granville has a rich history as a riverboat town on the Cumberland River. The museum has led the community in preservation of its rich history and in preservation of its many historical buildings. The board of directors are strongly committed to continue growing the museum and meeting the needs of the area.Our board recognizes the museum's future direction as we strive to involve younger people and grow an endowment. We are in the process of developing a junior board to carry the work forward for years to come. Our organization is so important to the past and future of Granville as we promote our town and yet preserve it at the same time. Our board is different from many boards in that we not only plan and direct but are people of action where each member is responsible for a specific task. We operate our museum and events with limited paid staff. Our passion is strong to carry forward our work on a volunteer basis. As we plan for the future, we want to develop a strong storytelling festival and develop a music training program for school-age children. We also want to develop our town into a major tourist attraction while preserving its small-town atmosphere. We want to take our bluegrass festival and weekly concerts to new heights. We want to have a history day for the children of our area and to further develop our primitive craftsmen program. As director of our museum, my passion is to lead our board proactively and to involve younger people. We have touched thousands of lives since 1999 as we have preserved their family history, giving them a reason to come home, giving people an opportunity to step back in time, helped individuals develop musical talents, and promoted the arts. As we go to the next level, we will strive even more to bring history and talents to a rural area of Tennessee. The Sutton General Store has totally changed our organization as it requires more volunteers with us now being open four days a week at the store and museum. With the Arts & Cultural Center, the opportunity to touch lives is unlimited as we promote the arts in the Upper Cumberland. The challenge is continuing to add additional attractions while maintaining the quality of present sites and programs.

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  - History Museums
Secondary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  - Historical Organizations
Tertiary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  - Museums

Areas Served

We serve all 95 counties in Tennessee. We draw large numbers from Jackson, Macon, Overton, Putnam, Smith and Wilson counties.

TN - Jackson

TN - Macon

TN - Overton

TN - Putnam

TN - Smith

TN - Wilson