Miniature Arrow Point

This miniature arrow point was found in Scott County by the SHS anthropology class. The miniature points are very rare and were used for small game such as birds and rabbits. Smaller points are evidence of prehistoric people having more leisure time and that they were experts because they could manufacture something this small. The detail on these points is amazing. Compare the size to the "standard size" arrow head in the photograph.

Civil War Cannon Shell

This Civil War cannon shell, on display at the museum, was found in Scott County. Not to be confused with a cannon ball which is solid on the inside, hollow shells like these were used against enemy forces by exploding into shrapnel when fired from a cannon. Isaac Griffith, one of the few men from Scott County to fight for the Confederacy, remembered in his 79th year his experience with a shell like this. "On our return through the (Cumberland) Gap wee campd at Tasville at the last of October in the morning the snow was about 5 inceas deep, when wee was getting beakfast some fool picked up a bomb shell and had it for a dog iron. It exsploed and killed three men."

Isaac Griffith was born on Brimstone Creek in Scott County in 1836. He joined the Confederate Army in 1862 and was one of the handful of men from the area to do so. He moved to Bradley County after the war.

Burial place of Isaac Griffith in Bradley County, TN.

Information taken from 1915 Confederate Veteran's Questionnaire completed by Isaac Griffith.  Photo two taken from a First National Bank Chronicle article about the Griffith Family  FNB Chronicle Vol. 6 No. 3 Spring of 1995.  Photo three courtesy of findagrave.com. 

Native American Cooking Pot

This woodland-era pot, dating to 2,000 years ago, was used by early Native Americans as a cooking pot. It was excavated by students in the Anthropology class at Scott High School. The students found 75% of the pot and sent it to the University of Tennessee to have it carbon-dated and reassembled. Not all of the pieces were found, as evidenced by the modern clay used to fill up the holes in the pot. The woodland era began around 1,000 B.C. and ended 1,000 A.D. Pottery during this time period is very simple and has check-stamping instead of handles. Check stamping is when the Native Americans would take a vine-wrapped paddle and would put indentations into the wet clay used to grip the finished pot when it was greasy or wet.

Detail showing check stamping on the pot displayed at the museum.

Drawing from the book Tribes That Slumber which is published by the University of Tennessee. The drawing shows a pot similar to the one at the museum.

Drawing from the book Tribes That Slumber published by the University of Tennessee. This drawing shows how Native Americans manufactured pots similar to the one found in Scott County.

Various forms of check stamping found on pots from the Woodland Era.

Information and pictures two and three taken from Tribes That Slumber by Lewis and Madeline Kneburg 

WWII Ration Book

Ration books containing stamps like these were issued to civilians on the home front during the second world war. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Government began rationing goods so that there was plenty of material to send to the fighting men across the ocean. These books were issued to citizens and contained stamps that rationed out how much food, gasoline, and tires a family was allotted. These stamps did not pay for the goods, like food stamps, but allowed every family to get a fair share of rationed items.

Ration books like these were used by civilians during WWII to claim their portion of rationed goods.

This ration stamp for sugar ensured that it was only being used for home canning of fruit and required a signature.

Ration stamps for coffee.

Poster explaining how to use ration stamps when purchasing goods.

Joy Dirksen Baker's Wedding Dress

Danice Joy Dirksen Baker, daughter of Everett and Louella Dirksen, married Howard Henry Baker Jr. on December 22, 1951. She wore a Marshall Fields original wedding gown with matching kidskin gloves. Although overshadowed by her husband's illustrious political career, Joy Baker served on influential committees for Knoxville College, the Kennedy Center or Performing Arts, and Ford's Theater, receiving a Lincoln Medal in 1985 for her work at Ford's Theater. She died on April 24, 1993 and was buried in the Mossop Cemetery adjacent from the First Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, TN. 

his Marshall Fields wedding gown was worn by Joy Dirksen Baker when she married future senator Howard H. Baker Jr.

Matching kidskin gloves

Howard H. Baker Jr. and Joy Dirksen Baker on their wedding day December 22, 1951.

Joy Baker and her husband at a political rally. Their son Derek can be seen behind Joy and their daughter Cissy can be seen to the right of Howard.

The resting place of Howard Henry Baker Jr. and wife Joy Dirksen Baker at the Mossop Cemetery in Huntsville, Tennessee.

 Photographs 3 and 4 courtesy of findagrave.com

Baby Cradle

This beautiful baby cradle was handmade around 1912. The corners are dovetailed, which is one of the strongest joints used in carpentry. The cradle includes intricate carving on the headboard and graceful rockers. Hand forged iron brackets, made in a blacksmith shop, hold the rockers onto the cradle. The rockers extend beyond the width of the cradle so that the mother could use her foot to rock the cradle leaving her hands free to complete other tasks.

Congressional Medal of Honor Citation

This citation for the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest honor that can be bestowed on an American in combat by the President, was issued to First Lieutenant Joseph Cecil of New River, TN. Cecil was serving at Bud-Dajo located in the Philippine Islands during the Philippine Insurrection, an offshoot of the Spanish American War. On March 7, 1906 while at the head of a column of soldiers, Cecil carried a wounded comrade to a sheltered position and retrieved the body of another comrade. Cecil was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Calvin Coolidge. Joseph Cecil rose to the rank of colonel and served in WWI. He died in 1940 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Colonel Joe Cecil Bridge, spanning New River, is named for him. The whereabouts of his Medal of Honor are not known.


Note: his citation gives his name as Josephus Cecil

This citation was issued to Joseph Cecil, native of Scott County, upon his reception of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Col. Joseph Cecil

This style of the Congressional Medal of Honor is the one that Joseph Cecil received for his service in the Philippine Insurrection. The whereabouts of his medal are not known.

Joseph Cecil's Tombstone in Arlington National Cemetery.

This bridge, spanning New River in south Scott County, is named for Col. Joseph Cecil.

 Photos of Cecil, Congressional Medal of Honor, Tombstone, and bridge sign courtesy of findagrave.com

Battleship USS Tennessee Bell

This bell, which can be viewed at the museum, was fitted aboard the battleship USS Tennessee when she was constructed before 1920. When the ship was commissioned, the United States Navy labored hard to enlist the majority of the sailors from Tennessee, a feat that had never been attempted. When the Tennessee entered service, 95% of her crew were from the state that she was named after. The ship was commissioned too late to be involved in WWI and spent most of its early years traveling the globe. Later she was docked at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She was placed beside the USS Arizona and this is where she was found on December 7th, 1941 when the Japanese attacked. The Tennessee served continually until 1943 when she was taken to Washington state to be repaired, fitted with new guns, and given a new bell. The bell that is featured was taken out of storage after many years and placed here in front of the Battleship USS Tennessee Museum. Her sister bell can be found at the Tennessee State Military Museum in Nashville.

Note: A video of the second bell can be found here at 1:40. Second USS Tennessee Bell 

 

WWI Wound Certificate

This certificate was awarded to the family of Private Hugh T. Lewallen, who lived in the Glenmary community, upon his death in World War One. Lewallen was serving in the Argonne Forrest in France and died on October 6, 1918 only two days before another East Tennessean named Alvin C. York would win the Congressional Medal of Honor for his valor on the same battlefield. Hugh Lewallen was only 23 years old. Lewallen's body was returned to the United States and he was buried in the Archie Lewallen Cemetery in Glenmary. This most interesting certificate is known as the Lady Columbia Wound Certificate and was given to the wounded and killed of World War One. The Purple Heart, while established by George Washington, was not given out in large quantities until 1932 when congress reintroduced it. The men who possessed this certificate were eligible for the Purple Heart after 1932. 

 Note: the original certificate can be found at the Scott County Historical Society.

This Lady Columbia Wound Certificate is featured in our new exhibit "Death and Dying in Scott County". The original can be viewed at the Scott County Historical Society.

Hugh Taylor Lewallen was a World War One soldier from Scott County who died in service at the Argonne Forrest.  He was 23 years old.

Hugh Lewallen's Tombstone in Glenmary

"Tobacco Bag" Tack Quilt

Feeling cold this November? This artifact of the week is guaranteed to keep you warm. The top on this interesting quilt was made from 150 Country Gentleman Tobacco bags, some of which were dyed red and pieced together to make a pattern. This quilt, often referred to as a comforter, is "tacked" together. Tacking was a simple and easy way to fashion bed covers and the process involves passing the needle and thread through the quilt, bringing it back through the top, and tying the two ends of thread together. This simple process was usually the first "quilting" that a young girl learned. These quilts were meant to be utilitarian and were not usually ornate. This one was made by Stella Mason of the Smokey community in the 1950s.

Bonus fact: It is believed that these cheaply made tack quilts served as the inspiration for the word "tacky", which means shoddy or cheap looking.

Information provided by family of Stella Mason and A People And Their Quilts by John Rice Irwin

This interesting quilt was made by Stella Mason of the Smokey community in the 1950s.

Stella Mason saved more than 150 of these small tobacco sacks, dyed some red, and then pieced them together to make the top of a quilt.

"Cumberland Chronicle" Masthead

This very worn masthead was used by the editors of the "Cumberland Chronicle" newspaper published in Huntsville, Tennessee by James F. Baker, grandfather of Howard H. Baker Jr., in 1890. This was the first newspaper in Huntsville and the second one published in Scott County. This weekly paper had 175 subscribers and a crew of five men managed to churn out 250 issues a week. Before the development of radio and television, this newspaper brought national events and local happenings to a rural audience. This masthead was manufactured in reverse so a "positive" was produced when printing. The "Cumberland Chronicle" was in circulation for 25 years and ceased publication in 1915.

This worn masthead was used to publish the first newspaper in Huntsville, the "Cumberland Chronicle"

This shows how the "Cumberland Chronicle" masthead looked when first published in 1890.

Charred star from the USS West Virginia

Do you know what time it is? It's time for our artifact of the week. After the devastating attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941, sailors from the Battleship USS Tennessee were dispatched to help fight fires aboard other ships. Bob Bishop found this single star while helping clean wreckage from the USS West Virginia and kept it. This star proved to be one of the few fragments left of the flag that flew above the damaged battleship. Years later, Mr. Bishop entrusted this star to the Battleship USS Tennessee Museum and it can be viewed in the Pearl Harbor gallery.

Harry Stonecipher Sr. Report Card

When Harry Stonecipher was in third grade in 1921, he was given this report card promoting him to the fourth grade at the Robbins school. He received grades in standard subjects such as reading and spelling, and also ones that are unfamiliar to us like "care of stock and poultry" and "habits of economy". By all measures, Mr. Stonecipher made commendable grades and was absent only four days that school year. Stonecipher would go on to graduate from the Robbins High school class of 1930 and his son, Harry Stonecipher Jr., would later become the CEO of Boeing aircraft company.

Harry Stonecipher was given this report card when he transitioned from third to fourth grade.

Harry Stonecipher received grades in spelling, reading, and odd subjects like "care of stock and poultry."

Stoneipher's parents signed the back of the report card.

Harry Stonecipher Sr. was one of the fifteen seniors in the 1930 graduating class from Robbins High School.

Alice Gibson's Christmas Basket

Christmas always holds special memories, but the Christmas of 1928 held special memories for Alice Gibson who lived on Antioch Farm in the Norma Community. Alice told the story of her little Christmas basket to John Rice Irwin, founder of the nationally known Museum of Appalachia, and he featured it in "Baskets and Basket Makers in Southern Appalachia."

Irwin recounted the following story:

"In the late 1970s, I visited Alice Gibson, who lived in a two-room log house near Norma in Scott County, Tenn. I knew that Alice possessed a myriad of interesting Appalachian artifacts, and I was hoping that she would sell me some of these items so that I could put them in the Museum. Alice was most generous; she sold me clothing, tools, guns and much more. Alice showed me a beautiful white oak gizzard basket; naturally, I wanted this piece, too. When I asked if I could buy it, she quickly replied, “Lord no, honey, that’s my Christmas basket, and I wouldn’t take a million dollars for it.”

Alice explained that she had a younger sister who lived “way over across the mountain” in Caryville, Tenn. “She came here the day before Christmas in 1928 – the first time I’d seen her for a year. It was a 12-hour walk, and she was cold and wet when she got here. I’ll never forget, she packed her Christmas dinner in that little basket and walked all the way from Caryville. It took her all day (it’s a half-hour drive from Norma to Caryville). Rather than pack the basket back the next day, after she spent Christmas night with us, she give it to Mommy (who later gave it to Alice).

She took sick on her way back to Caryville, and they had to take her out on a push car (on the railroad). That was in 1928, and she took pneumonia and never did get over it. She died the 9th of March in 1929. So you can see why I wouldn’t sell the little basket. So, I call it my Christmas basket, and I keep it here to remember her by. I put it out every Christmas and put some spruce and mistletoe it.”

Merry Christmas from the Museum of Scott County family.

Lead Ladle Recycled From A Hoe Blade

The people of Appalachia have always had to be resourceful, and arguably practiced recycling before it was popular in the rest of the nation. When tools wore out, they were re-purposed into other items. This ladle, used to pour molten lead into a mold to make bullets, started its life as a garden hoe, as evidenced by its shape and the "goose neck" shank. The original hoe was reworked by a blacksmith into a lead ladle. Hunters made their own bullets by melting lead over a fire in a pot, then used a ladle like this to pour the molten lead into the mold, making a round bullet. The lip for pouring can be found on the left side, indicating it's use by a right handed person. 

This ladle, used to pour melted lead into a bullet to make bullets, was re-purposed from a garden hoe.

The lip used to pour the lead into the bullet mold can be seen at the top of the figure.

This photograph, from John Rice Irwin's "Guns And Gunmaking Tools Of Southern Appalachia", shows how the ladle would have been used by someone making bullets.