Maury County Historical Society
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Who are We? The Maury County Historical Society is a non-profit society, chartered under the laws of the State of Tennessee, for the purpose of recording the history and promoting the preservation of historical properties, records, and artifacts of Maury County. It carries out its program of activities through its duly elected directors and committees, reporting to its members by means of bi-monthly meetings, published newsletters, printed bulletins and direct correspondence.
Its membership is open to all persons who have similar interests, regardless of their residence, race, creed or station in life.
Current Projects
The Maury County Historical Society is working on the following projects at present:
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1. Genealogical Section, Maury County Public Library.
The Maury County Historical Society is working with the Board and the Staff of Maury County Public Library to improve its already important Genealogical Section. Friends who have visited the Library in the past months have noted that the Genealogical Section has been moved from the balcony to the main floor. This gives better access to the area; provides more space for shelving, work tables, microfilm readers and storage of important documents; and makes it possible for the Library Staff to supervise the sector; and provides space for future growth.In the past few years, the Society has been able to fund several important items for the Library. When Mrs. Jill Garrett decided to dispose of her volumonous personal library some time before she passed away, she gave it to the Society, directing that it be archived, indexed and stored in the Public Library so that it could be used by persons interested in general or family history. (NOTE: The Jill Garrett collection is now in the Archives. In fact, most of the genealogical library is now at the Archives.) The Society provided funds to carry out Mrs. Garrett’s wishes and the materials are now available. Funds have also been appropriated for additional cabinets; for the aquisition of the back issues of Columbia newspapers (notably, The Columbia Daily Herald) from the first extant issues in the late 1800’s to about 1990; for the purchase of the important four volume set of Genealogical Abstracts of Revolutionary War Pension Files and for the four volume set of Index to Revolutionary War Service Records; and for the microfilms of Maury County Deaths, 1914 to 1925.
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2. Historic Site Marker Project.
There are several important sites in Maury County that are almost unknown to friends who pass along our streets and highways. For some years, the State of Tennessee was able to fund the erection of markers to indicate the location of many of these historic places. Budget restrictions have now almost eliminated State funds for these markers. Interested local groups can, however, erect them at their own expense. The same rules and regulations that the State applies to its own signs must still be observed for those erected by local groups. These include the presentation of adequate proof of historic importance of the event, place or person being memorialized. In 1997, the Society funded the erection of the first of what is planned to be a series of these markers in the county. The first was placed in the square in Santa Fe where Captian James Madison Sparkman organized the MauryLight Artillery.
Membership
Membership dues: at present $10.00 per year. The Society is studying whether or not to increase these dues. It is costing us twice the amount of the dues just to print and mail to our members the quarterly HISTORIC MAURY magazine. We do not feel that our members want us to continue to go in the red for this service. At present, however, it is $10.00 and if you send in your membership immediately, that is all you will have to pay this year.
Send us the following information:
–Name of person and spouse (both included in one
membership)
–Complete mailing address.
–Telephone Number.
–E-mail address, if you have such.
–You might want to list with us the families you are
interested in, if you are a genealogist. We will try
to get them listed in our Researchers page.
That’s it, folks. Just send the above information and you check to:
Maury County Historical Society
P. O. Box 147
Columbia, TN 38402
Historic Highway Guides 