Rosemark Historic District
Incorporated as a 501(c)(3) corporation in 2009, Historic Archives of Rosemark & Environs, Inc. is a community-based educational organization that preserves local history, historical buildings, and sites, and promotes major local events such as the Country Fair at Rosemark, Christmas Tree Lighting, and Bobby Blue Bland Day in Barretville – all cultural events that bring the community together and enrich the lives and experiences of the citizens of northeast Shelby County and south Tipton County. HARE, through its Board of Directors, Community Development Committee, and committees, supports activities at the Rosemark Community Park, Rosemark Telephone Company Exchange Company Museum, and the soon-to-be inaugurated Country Doctor Museum and HARE Headquarters. HARE provides newcomers and long-time residents an opportunity to participate in community activities and meet individuals who are making a difference in their community.
You are encouraged to contact Historic Archives by emailing its individual officers and directors, or by coming to regularly scheduled events or HARE’s open Board and committee meetings. It is an opportunity to make friends while learning more about your community, its history, and resources.
THE BACK STORY
Historic Archives of Rosemark & Environs (HARE) began as the Rosemark History Project in 2002. Individuals interested in preserving the rural history of northeast Shelby County and south central Tipton County met regularly to gather historical information and preserve recollections, perform research, draft articles, and plan for a series of interviews that would be conducted over the next several years and would form the basis of a publication on October 9, 2010, of An Illustrated History of the People and Towns of Northeast Shelby County and South Central Tipton Country – Salem, Portersville, Idaville, Kerrville, Armourtown, Bethel, Tipton, Mudville, Macedonia, Gratitude, Barretville and Rosemark, Tennessee. This almost 600-page hardback book has over 200 illustrations including a series of unique maps that show the exact location where the events described in the book occurred, where people actually lived from the early settlements of the 1820s and ’30s through the late 1950s and early ’60s. In this book, you can find the exact location and the history of where you live or are visiting in northeast Shelby County and south central Tipton County. Small segments of the book will be posted on occasion on this website to give you a glimpse of this marvelous resource.
An Illustrated History is no standard history book. It builds on personal stories which help you remember and which allow you to tell your own story of local history. By reading a paragraph or two you become the local historian for your family and friends, helping them understand the generations who have come before, the challenges that they faced, and their accomplishments.
You can learn the story of the little drummer boy, a wounded Union drummer taken in by a local family, who died in 1865 and you can locate his tombstone in the historic Salem Cemetery. You can gaze at the illustrations from the “Gazetter” and track, in a single-page, activities from 1834 and the founding of Portersville through the building of the Memphis/Paducah Railroad in 1874. You can get a glimpse of the businesses that thrived in the “rising village” of Kerrville in 1876-77 with its mills, plow and wagon factories, and other small industries (page 91). You can admire World War I postcards (page 69) as soldiers from the area went off to win the “war to end all wars”. You can also learn about World War I Medal of Honor Winner, Joseph Adkison, and his citation as well as his actual burial site (Page 68). These are just a sample of the fascinating stories learn which will make your life richer and will help you tell the American story – with all of its triumphs and tragedies through the lives of real people who you will get to know by turning the pages of this delightful, entertaining, historically accurate, and educational book about real places and real people.
HOW HISTORIC ARCHIVES ARE ORGANIZED
As a 501(c)(3) corporation, HARE has a nine-member Board of Directors, three of whom are elected each year for three-year staggered terms. The Chairman of the Board presides over the board meetings and the President of the corporation executes the policies and programs of the corporation. The Board of Directors meets monthly, usually on the second Sunday of the month at 2:00 p.m. The location varies but is usually either at the Board Room of Patriot Bank in Barretville, Tennessee or at a designated church session or conference room.
The Country Fair has its own set of supporting committees, including the Exhibitors Committee which plans the lay-out of the Fair, the program on Fair Day (normally the last Saturday in September or sometimes the first Saturday in October). The Community Development Committee is a training ground for those who are interested in serving with Historic Archives and also has representatives from other local 501(c)(3) corporations including, H.Y.P.E. (Helping Young People Excel) and the Garden Club of Rosemark. A committee helps maintain and landscape Historic Archives properties including the community park at the southeast corner of Kerrville Road and Rosemark Road, and the Dr. Peter Flippin properties, including his original office which includes a small museum to the country doctor and a community meeting room and office for Historic Archives, Inc. Both the Telephone Company Exchange Building Museum, the Dr. Peter J. Flippin Country Doctor Museum and the HARE offices are open for a limited number of hours and can be accessed by appointment by contacting the Chairman of the Historic Markers Committee, Lee Henwood, at 901-491-7130; email lchenwood20@gmail.com.
Board of Directors
President, Cary Vaughn (January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2022);
First Vice President, Trip Jones (January 1, 2021 to January 1, 2022);
Second Vice President, Karen R. Williams (January 1, 2021 to January 1, 2023);
Secretary, Bonnie Briggs (January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2022);
Robert Fleming, Historian, (January 1, 2021 to January 1, 2023);
Treasurer, Mike Leggett (January 1, 2021 to January 1, 2023);
Assistant Treasurer/Secretary for Finances and Compliance, Heath Peterson (January
1, 2021 to January 1, 2022).
Or you can write to:
Historic Archives of Rosemark & Environs, Inc.
9043 Barret Road
Millington, Tennessee 38053
HARE News© is a publication of Historic Archives of Rosemark & Environs, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation established for educational purposes including preserving the history of the small towns and communities of Northeast Shelby County and South Central Tipton County. H.A.R.E., Inc. does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities.