Montgomery County Archives

10/14/2026

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Scrapbook class will be postponed. Please stay tuned for the updated date and time!

EDIT: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Scrapbook class will be postponed. Please stay tuned for the updated date and time!

There is still time to register!

Registration still open for our Scrapbook Preservation class! This class will teach you how to preserve your family scrapbooks so they can stand the test of time. Bring your own scrapbooks to ask for pointers, or watch our in-house demonstrations!

The class is this Thursday, October 15, at 6pm! Click the link below to register or use the QR code!
https://shorturl.at/RR7Ls

10/13/2026

EDIT: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Scrapbook class will be postponed. Please stay tuned for the updated date and time!

There is still time to register!

Registration still open for our Scrapbook Preservation class! This class will teach you how to preserve your family scrapbooks so they can stand the test of time. Bring your own scrapbooks to ask for pointers, or watch our in-house demonstrations!

The class is this Thursday, October 15, at 6pm! Click the link below to register or use the QR code!
https://shorturl.at/RR7Ls

10/09/2026

~ Hospitality Day ~
Between 1959 and 1961, Clarksville participated in Hospitality Day, taking place once a year during the summer months. Organized by the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce and the Clarksville Kiwanis Club, this event was meant to encourage tourism and new industry and gave tourists “the most genuine performance of hospitality that any Southern city could offer”. Kiwanians and Tennessee Highway Patrol officers spent an afternoon stopping numerous vehicles with out-of-state license plates and inviting them to spend the evening in Clarksville. Those that accepted were treated to a variety of hospitalities, including a tour of the city, dinner and entertainment at Dunbar Cave or Clarksville Country Club, a car tune up (including a car wash and a full tank of gas), corsages from Tarpley’s Florist, a phone call to anywhere in the U.S., and a night of lodging at a local motel. Regarding the 1960 Hospitality Day, the Clarksville Kiwanis Club stated it was a “fairy-tale-dream-come-true for six families, and there is little doubt that this one day of friendly association with Clarksville folks will provide a lot of pleasant story telling for months to come”.

(Photograph from the Clarksville Community Progress Scrapbooks)

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*To view our collections database, please visit https://mcarchives.libraryhost.com/
*To view our digital collections, please visit https://cdm17128.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/

10/06/2026

~ Church Spires ~
Clarksville is well known for the many ornate spires that make up the downtown skyline. While the Montgomery County Courthouse and Customs House Museum might be two of the most well-known examples, many churches in this area also have striking steeples that are renowned for their beauty. This photo from the 1934 Clarksville Sesqui-Centennial Book highlights historic downtown churches, many with distinct spires that are a trademark of the Queen City. Listed here are some details of two of these historic churches, both of which still stand in the city today.
First Presbyterian Church, located at 213 Main Street, was built in 1876 with two asymmetrical steeples, immediately grabbing your attention when walking through downtown. The façade is ornamented with a large stained-glass circular window, known as a rose window, above the pointed arch front door. The current structure sits where an earlier church building had been built in 1840, before being torn down to build the current structure. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
St. Peter African Methodist Episcopal Church, located at 518 Franklin Street, is another of the historic churches that features an eye-catching steeple. Built on Franklin Street in 1873, with the Reverend B.L. Brooks as the Pastor at that time, the congregation of this church was originally founded in 1866. The church is built of red brick, with pointed arch windows of stained glass and a pointed arch door to welcome parishioners. The distinct steeple was added to the church in 1890, adding that spire to the city’s skyline. This church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Other historic churches noted in the photo with prominent spires include Trinity Episcopal Church, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and Madison Street United Methodist Church, just to name a few.

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*To view our collections database, please visit https://mcarchives.libraryhost.com/
*To view our digital collections, please visit https://cdm17128.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/

10/02/2026

~ New Exhibit ~
Make sure to stop by the Archives to check out the new exhibit “From Our Roots to Our Leave: Families in Montgomery County”! This exhibit examines how family relations have impacted the Montgomery County community and showcases specific examples from our collections. Come see these pieces of Montgomery County history!

You can also check out our exhibit tomorrow during our Open House event from 9-3:30 with tours on every half hour! Also, join us as Raymond Rosado gives a presentation on valuable genealogy tips and tricks at 10!

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*To view our collections database, please visit https://mcarchives.libraryhost.com/
*To view our digital collections, please visit https://cdm17128.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/

09/30/2026

~ Archives Month Celebrations! ~
Tomorrow kicks off Archives Month, and this year we are exploring family connections in the Archives. Join us for one of our special events!
October 3rd, 10-11 am: We are pleased to welcome you to a joint talk with genealogist Raymond Rosado and Archives staff as we provide an introduction to family research and what the Archives can add to your process! Learn how to get started with family research and how utilizing the Archives can add depth to your findings.
October 15th, 6-7 pm: Join us for a hands-on class, teaching you how to preserve family scrapbooks! Staff members will walk you through what the Archives does to preserve the scrapbooks in our care and how you can apply these processes to your home collections. Registration is required, and space is limited! You can register here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/BX0Nu5vPh7
Open House Tours, October 3rd and 27th, 9 am – 3:30 pm: Come get a behind the scenes look at the Archives. Tour the stacks, see the collections in process, and learn from staff members what goes into preserving the history of Montgomery County. Tours begin on the half hour beginning at 9 am, with the last tour beginning at 3 pm. The Eleanor Williams Reading Room will be open throughout the day, so plan to stay and do some research!

09/25/2026

📚 October is Archives Month!
Celebrate with the Archives team all month long with "Family Connections in the Archives"!

🗓 October 3rd: Family Research and Archives Talk
🕙 10 AM - 11 AM
📍 With genealogist Raymond Rosado

🗓 October 15th: Scrapbook Preservation Class
🕕 6 PM - 7 PM
Limited to 15 participants—reservations required!
👉 Reserve your spot here!

🗓 Open House Tours:
📅 October 3 & 27, 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM

📍 Location: 350 Pageant Lane, Suite 101, Montgomery County, TN
📞 For more info, contact us at (931) 553-5159.

Help us spread the word and celebrate our rich history! 📖✨

09/25/2026

~ Coca-Cola Bottling Works ~
Coca-Cola Bottling Works, as it was first known, began operations in the Clarksville area around 1906, with the original plant location being on the Public Square. The bottling facility would move several times around downtown Clarksville before the new Coca-Cola Bottling Company opened its doors at 330 North Second Street in 1938. It was operated by Willam Kleeman and Harold Hirsch Jr. The new soda bottling plant was the embodiment of modern style and function of the era. The facility was constructed with multiple stories, with the first floor holding the bottling machinery, a sales room, a filing room, business office, and a stockroom. According to news reports of the day, the new Coca-Cola building had a public facing corridor that was accessible from the main entrance. This corridor had large plate glass windows so visitors could see aspects of the bottling processes as they happened. The second floor was equipped with an advertising room, a large assembly hall, a kitchen and restrooms.
The syrup room was also located on the second floor. It held a stainless-steel syrup tank that had the capacity to hold up to 250 gallons of Coca-Cola syrup. The syrup was then piped through to the bottling machinery. Sterilized bottles were moved along a conveyor belt to the bottling machine. This machine filled the bottles with the syrup and carbonated water, then clamped on the bottle tops to the signature green Coca-Cola Bottles. The Coca-Cola Bottling Company had a fleet of delivery trucks, supplied by local company Perkins & Miller, that delivered cases of bottled Coca-Cola all over Montgomery, Houston and Stewart counties, as well as parts of Dickson and Cheatham counties.
Note in the photo the Coke bottle statues that graced the front entrance of the building and the signature Coca-Cola name etched on the structure. The Coca-Cola building still stands in Clarksville today.

(Photograph from the Real Estate Tax Cards)

09/22/2026

~ New Intern ~
The fall semester is in full swing, which means we have two new interns with us at the Archives! Today we wanted to give one of the interns an opportunity to introduce herself. Meet Julia!
"I am pursuing dual degrees in Political Science and History at Austin Peay State University as part of the University’s Honors Program. My academic interests center on history, politics, and the ways historical events and ideas shape society. I look forward to the opportunity to intern at the Montgomery County Archives this fall, where I hope to develop my skills in working with historical documents and archival materials while gaining valuable experience that will support my future research and career in history and political science."
We are looking forward to a great semester with Julia!
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*To view our collections database, please visit https://mcarchives.libraryhost.com/
*To view our digital collections, please visit https://cdm17128.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/