Washington County Heritage Fair

The Washington County Heritage Fair will take place in Jonesborough, Tennessee on Friday, May 8th and Saturday, May 9^th. The heritage event is open to the public and specifically targets Washington County students through local heritage engagements that brings together local cultural and heritage organizations and sites to showcase local heritage and culture. This year the fair will consist of 3 parts including a Heritage Poster Competition for students in grades 5-8, individual/organization exhibitions, and a Living History Timeline.

Jonesborough Genealogical Society President Chad Bailey said, “This event is in its second year, and in celebration of the JGS’s 30th year, the event has taken new meaning through an even more expanded and fun filled event.” “With the beautiful historic backdrop of the oldest town in Tennessee,” Bailey continued, “why not showcase the area’s history and culture to the next generation in a multi-generation setting!”  The Jonesborough Genealogical Society invites the public to attend the Washington County Heritage Fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday in Historic Jonesborough. Those attending are asked to begin the day at the Jonesborough Visitors Center and Emporium, 117 Boone Street, Jonesborough, where participants can register and pick up a program and map of the events locations. The 5th-8th Grade Student Heritage Poster Competition Displays and the Individual/Organization Exhibitions the auditorium.

The 5th-8th Grade Student Heritage Poster Competition brings together area students from Washington County, Tennessee public and private schools at the Jonesborough Visitors Center and Emporium through a combined learning experiences where students’ knowledge of local heritage and culture are presented in a unique and creative way through the use of primary and secondary source material displayed on a tri-fold board in three specific categories. Each project will be judged by judicial panel that have experiences and interests in the specific categories. Winners will be selected by grade and category and announced during the Jonesborough Genealogical Society’s Annual Meeting and Hall of Fame on Saturday, May 9th at 9:30 a.m. at the Washington County-Jonesborough Library. Those wishing to have their students participate in this event, whether teachers or homeschool parents, please register your student using the registration form at jgstn.org/annual-heritage-fair/. The deadline for registration has been extended to Monday, March 16th to allow more students to participate.

The Individual/Organization Exhibitions bring together over 20 local heritage and cultural organizations and sites in the Historic Jonesborough Visitors Center and Emporium, which gives participants an opportunity to engage with heritage and cultural sites, knowledge, and techniques, they may have never seen or used before. This exhibition provides youth and adults with a taste of public and private heritage and cultural sites, in which, they can visit at later dates to take in the educational experiences fully. In addition, organizations will showcase their missions, visions, programming, and projects to the public through the use of visual and/or oratory exhibitions. Knowledgeable individuals can showcase their individual research, cultural work, and craft to provide another perspective of learning to the next generation. For a complete list of participants, please visit jgstn.org/annual-heritage-fair/.

In addition, presentations by exceptional speakers will provide 45-minute lessons on local heritage and cultural topics in the Community Room of the Washington County-Jonesborough Library, 200 Sabin Drive, Jonesborough from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. These include Connie Goff Sharp, The History of 4-H and Heritage Skill Programs; Dr. Brenda G’Fellers and Kristin Pearson, presenting Children’s Author and Illustrator Rhea Wells; Jennifer Bauer, Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park; Megan Cullen Tewell, History of the Ashe Street Courthouse; Joy Branham, The Perfect 36: Tennessee’s Crucial Part in Securing Women’s Right to Vote; Nathan Shreve, Cane Notch Archaeological Site; Dr. Patrick Stern, Embree House Historic Farm; Reagan Cornett, Geographical and Archaeological Investigation at David Crockett Birthplace State Park; Dr. William Kennedy, Celebrating 50 Years of Historic Zoning in Jonesborough; Boones Creek Historical Trust, History of Boones Creek; and Cherel Henderson, First Families in Tennessee. More information on these presentations and demonstration will be announced.

Finally, the Living History Timeline, which will be presented in Greenspace next to the Jonesborough Visitors Center; Central Christian Church Yard, corner of Fox and Main Streets; and Mill Springs Park, 104 Spring Street, will consist of tradespeople and reenactors in three time period-based camps from pre-Revolutionary to early 20th Century regalia. The Living History Timeline present educational experiences through the visual representation of life throughout history, which includes period clothing styles, language, techniques, and experiences. In addition, it provides a look at jobs and trades, as well as economic, social, racial, and gender stature throughout time. Beginning at the Jonesborough Visitors Center, partakers will move through time by walking the streets of Tennessee’s oldest town where they can view and learn about the town’s preservation efforts and past as well as delving into topics and experiences in the town’s historical façade with its storied-past telling its own story, creating an environment, combined with the other two parts, that sets local heritage and culture in motion, so students and the public can create, develop, and cultivate their own sense of community and place within the region as a whole.

In addition, other heritage sites will be open throughout town including the Washington County-Jonesborough Museum in the Jonesborough Visitors Center, 117 Boone Street; the Genealogy and History Center in the Washington County-Jonesborough Library, 200 Sabin Drive; the Chester Inn State Historic Site and Museum (116 W. Main Street) will open at 11 am and close at 6 p.m.; the Chuckey Depot Museum (2nd Avenue) will open at 1 p.m. and close at 5 p.m. on Friday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday; Oak Hill School will be open on Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Some events and schedules are tentative and could change, be added, or cancelled, please check back for up-to-date information. For more information on the Washington County Heritage Fair, please visit the Jonesborough Genealogical Society’s website at jgstn.org/annual-heritage-fair/or Facebook page www.facebook.com/tnjgs/ or visit the Jonesborough Visitors Center and Emporium at 117 Boone Street, Jonesborough or pick up a copy of the Jonesborough Herald and Tribune and read the update and answer the trivia question each Wednesday up to the fair.