Metro Nashville Historical Commission

10/13/2026

The Metro Historical Commission is looking for guest presentations for our monthly Commission meetings. Topics may be about preservation- or history-based organizations, historic buildings and sites, community histories, preservation projects, or historical topics (i.e., people or events) related to Nashville and Davidson County. This is a great opportunity to connect with our Commission and staff, generate support for projects, and identify/raise awareness for preservation needs across the community!

Meetings take place on the third Monday of each month at 12:00 pm at the Howard Office Building. Anyone interested may contact [email protected] to submit their proposed topic and meeting availability.

10/09/2026

Due to the expected heavy rain this weekend, the Tennessee Tribune historical marker ceremony has been rescheduled to Saturday, October 24. We hope you can join us at this later date!

Tennessee Tribune News

09/15/2026

Join our team! We are hiring for a new Historic Preservationist 1 position, with specialized programmatic-level support in cemetery preservation, grant seeking/grant management, and community engagement. Posting closes on October 1, 2026. Apply through the Metro jobs portal. https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/nashville/jobs/5477038/historic-preservationist-1-programmatic-operations-grants-coordinator?pagetype=jobOpportunitiesJobs

08/31/2026

The “Evenings With An Archaeologist” Series continues September 24 with “Fifty Years of Historical Archaeology in Tennessee,” featuring Sam Smith, who spent decades as the Tennessee Division of Archaeology’s Historical Archaeologist surveying and excavating sites across the state.

📍 Sunnyside Mansion, 1113 Kirkwood Ave.

🕠 Reception at 5:30, presentation 6:00-7:00 pm

Registration required — contact [email protected] to reserve your seat!

08/19/2026

If you're following along with the currently proposed rule changes to the Section 106 review process under the ACHP, check out this excellent overview provided by our state partners at the Tennessee Historical Commission. If these changes pass:

-"local governments will be completely excluded from the consultative process and have no input in federal projects in their municipalities"

-"citizens throughout the state will no longer be able to provide information or advocate for historic sites important to their communities"

-cultural landscapes that may no longer be considered include cemeteries, battlefields, rural landscapes, and large urban historic districts

The public comment period will open in the next few weeks for those who want to take action on this issue. You can find more information and guidance on next steps through the National Trust for Historic Preservation: https://savingplaces.org/section106.

07/15/2026

Archaeological Field School Days 10 and 11: Wrapping Up

Like all field schools, we spent the last two days moving fast to finish the excavation and document the units with the threat of thunderstorms looming constantly in the background. We were able to reach the base of the root cellar in two of the excavations units and map the foundation walls. The image below shows the orange subsoil clay with the intersection of two of the limestone walls above. The remainder of the unit is filled with loose limestone and brick.

The excavation was only possible thanks to the amazing staff at the Nashville Zoo and the hard work of 30 students and volunteers. They not only excavated through rain and triple digit heat, but they discussed archaeology and shared their findings with over 500 curious members of the public who came to see the excavation.

Over the next few months, we will clean and process the 49 bags of artifacts we recovered. Analysis of the artifacts (such as this ceramic marble) and the field records will provide insight into the everyday life of the people that lived and worked on the property during the 1860s and 1870s.

This foundation has provided us with a unique set of data, but Nashville has many other sites with similar, irreplaceable records that need to be documented and conserved. Please consider joining the Nashville Public Archaeology Program at the Metropolitan Historical Commission to help us preserve this record and share this data.

07/07/2026

Check out this story from WKRN on William Driver, the Nashville sea captain who gave the American flag its enduring nickname, "Old Glory." The feature includes insights from Nashville City Cemetery Site Manager Bryan Gilley and explores the remarkable history behind one of the cemetery's most visited graves.

William Driver was a retired sea captain who found himself in Nashville in the middle of the Civil War. But it’s his contribution to the legacy of the American flag that endures more than 160 years…

07/07/2026

Archaeological Field School Days 8 and 9: The End of Week Two

We are now two weeks into the excavation, and we have excavated and sifted dozens and dozens of buckets of soil. In the process, we have located three sides of the early nineteenth-century building that sat next to the Croft House. The walls of the structure appear to have been leveled just below the surface, resulting in piles of stone around the walls.

Excavating within the building has proceeded slowly as the interior of the building is full of loose rock and brick. In this fill layer is a wide range of domestic material from animal bone to personal items. On Friday and Monday, we recovered more bone buttons as well as a corset busk and doll leg. The building fill has proven to be a time capsule from the 1860s and 1870s.

07/06/2026

Archaeological Field School Day 7: Volunteers

The Metropolitan Historical Commission staff works together to preserve the architectural and archaeological heritage of Metro Nashville and Davidson County. The Nashville Public Archaeology Program is committed to documenting archaeological resources in Nashville, the 13th largest municipal area in the country. This program is only possible because of the collaboration of staff and the hard work of many volunteers.

The excavation at the Nashville Zoo has brought together students and a wide range of aspiring archaeologists. They have labored for almost two weeks in the heat to explore the remains of the nineteenth-century building adjacent to the Croft House. This work would not have been possible without these volunteers, the support of the Zoo, and the help of so many others. For example, yesterday, we were fortunate to have Dr. Tiffany Fracchia of the Department of Anthropology at Vanderbilt University provide the team with an introduction to bone and bone identification. In the photo here, she is teaching faunal anatomy with a giraffe skull, courtesy of interpretive programming at the zoo. Coincidentally, later that day, we recovered a portion of a pig mandible and the fragment of a bone-handled fork from fill layers within the foundation of the building. We also uncovered a large cow rib in this fill (pictured). We are excited to continue the excavation through July 8th and are always welcoming new volunteers.

07/02/2026

📣 Here's the July History Gram, just in time for the holiday weekend! 🇺🇸 ⚽️ 😎

July 2026 History Gram Nashville.gov sent this bulletin at 07/02/2026 10:51 AM CDT July 2026 MHC News Public Archaeology Program Updates Nashville City Cemetery Updates What's New with the Nashville Historical Foundation Celebrating America250 Annual Rep. John Lewis Way March Around Town MHC News Th...