Nolensville museum nets competitive grant from Tennessee State Museum

A Williamson County museum is getting a needed renovation, thanks to the Tennessee State Museum. 

The Nolensville Historic School Museum has been announced as the recipient of a $94,815 grant to help with capital maintenance along with improvements, which will be spent on milling and repaving the museum’s parking lot. 

Created in 2022, the grant is highly competitive and aims to help smaller museums around the state, officials explained.

This year, the Tennessee State Museum has awarded grants to 99 museums from 45 counties. In the three years the Museum has administered the grant program, it has served museums in 73 counties across the state. 

“The Tennessee Capital Improvement Grants continue to support and strengthen the infrastructure of institutions preserving our state and local history and culture,” said Tennessee State Museum Executive Director Ashley Howell. “We are honored to help support the commitment of those institutions to better serve their communities and visitors through collection care and visitor accessibility these last three years.” 

Since it was taken over by the Nolensville Historical Society in 2009, the school museum has worked to preserve historic research material of the Nolensville area.

Visitors can view a historic classroom, 1937 kitchen, workshop of historic farm and carpentry tools, displays of local archaeological finds and a host of rotating exhibits.

The building was officially placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.  

The Nolensville Historic School Museum is run by a professional part time staff members and volunteers. The space is home to a growing amount of public historic research materials, and visitors can get assistance from staff and volunteers with any genealogy and cemetery research needs.

The gym, cafeteria, and parking lot spaces are available to the public for local community events. 

“As Williamson County mayor, I support the preservation of our local cultural heritage,” Rogers Anderson said of the grant.

Historic School Museum Director Michelle Jenkins said she was also appreciative to Williamson County and the state for the grant award because it will make the improvements and maintenance project possible.

The Nolensville Historical Society’s mission is to promote knowledge and awareness of the historical heritage of Nolensville and the surrounding areas, and to promote the preservation of historic sites in and around the Nolensville community.

The Historic School Museum, at 7248 Nolensville Road, is open from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday.