Clarksville-Montgomery County History Slides

Collection

Identifier: 1000.030

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Clarksville-Montgomery County History Slides consist of photos of the historic buildings and locations within Montgomery County. The slide show was created around 1978-1981 and features 145 photographs of notable buildings, churches, homes, and schools within Montgomery County and nine pages of notes with a brief description of each photo. The provenance of the slide show is unknown, but credit is given to professors and students of Austin Peay State University and several city organizations. The focus of the slide show is the general history of Clarksville-Montgomery County, with a concentration on architecture, through a visual medium. The collection features photographs of notable locations around Montgomery County that span from 1792 to 1978, with many photographs of the same buildings over time, showing how the landscape and industry of the area has changed. With photos of historic buildings that were destroyed in many of the slides, this collection could be great resource for someone researching local history or architecture.

Dates

1978 - 1981

Creator

Wade, Marjorie Lane, 1933-2013 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

While the Montgomery County Archives houses an item, it does not necessarily hold the copyright on the item, nor may it be able to determine if the item is still protected under current copyright law. It is the user’s obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

Biographical / Historical

The Clarksville Montgomery County History Slides were donated by Randy Rubel, a local historian. The origin of the slide show is unknown, but the box containing the slides was dated Sept. 1981 with the name Marjorie Lane inscribed on it. Those given credit for the slides are as follows: Media Center-APSU, Regional Planning Commission, Chamber of Commerce, Public Library, Learning Resource Center-APSU, Woodward Library-APSU, Mayor Crow’s Office, Ursula Beach, Bryan Crutcher, C. James Dunigan, Marjorie Lane, and Stanley Lane. The Lanes were both graduate students at Austin Peay State University (APSU) getting their Master’s in Education, and Bryan Crutcher was a professor of Education at APSU. C. James Dunigan was a former professor of Geography at APSU who was the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee, and he was involved in a task force created by Mayor Crow that focused on urban development. Ursula Beach was the county historian and also a member of the task force for urban development. All of those credited can be connected in a wide array of ways, so it is unknown why this slide show was created or how it was used. It is equally likely that the slide show could have been a school assignment by two graduate students at Austin Peay, or it might have been an outline of local history to be shown to parts of the local government as a push for the preservation of historic buildings.

The content within the slides provide a general history of the county, with a concentration on architecture. The slide show starts with photographs of things generally associated with Montgomery County such as the tobacco trade, Dunbar cave, and the nearby rivers. Then the theme shifts toward historic buildings within Montgomery County. These slides include photos of notable homes, historic schools, and large industrial buildings such as tobacco warehouses. Many buildings shown in the slides no longer exist, such as the Ringgold Mill and Frosty Morn factory. There are photographs from different eras, so the viewer can see the geographic changes over time and which buildings are still standing. Many of the photos in the slide show have been used in previous works, but the bulk of the photos appear to be from Ursula Beach and John Halliburton. While much is unknown about this slide show, the photographs included show a wide assortment of historic sites within Montgomery County. With 145 photos that highlight local architecture, the growth of industry in the county, homes of notable residents, and many structures that have ceased to exist, the contents of these slides provide an interesting visual resource for anyone interested in local history.

Extent

.25 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The collection consisted of a slide show carousel with 145 film slides and nine pages of corresponding notes. The slides did not appear to be in a coherent order when removed from the carousel, but they were numbered in red pen that matched the numbering of slide descriptions on the pages of notes. The slides were rearranged to match the order specified on the notes. There were five slides that were not listed on the presentation notes that were placed at the end of the order.

Custodial History

The collection was created in 1981 by Marjorie Wade (née Lane) along with staff from Austin Peay State University. Credit is given to several Austin Peay State University resources, the Mayor’s office, the Chamber of Commerce, Regional Planning Commission, and County Historian. Later in life Marjorie Wade gifted the collection to Randy Rubel, who donated the collection to the Montgomery County Archives.

Processing Information

Each slide was removed from the carousel in its original order and scanned. After being scanned, the slides were placed in polypropylene slide pages until all scans were completed. Once all 145 slides were properly scanned, they were rearranged and numbered to match the order that was written in red on each slide, according to the nine pages of notes that had a corresponding red number text next to the details about the slides. The list and red numbers only covered the details of 140 of the slides, and the remaining five slides were placed at the end of the slide show. Once the slides were scanned and rearranged, the nine pages of notes were scanned to be included with the collection.