Your Tennessee State Museum has several interesting events coming up in the next few weeks, culminating in a celebration of Tennessee Statehood on May 30 and June 1.
Saturday, May 9, 2026 at 10:30 a.m., enjoy Scott Williams as he discusses his book, “Townmania: Marcus Winchester and the Making of Memphis.” Marcus Winchester (1796–1856) devoted his life to transforming the small settlement on the fourth Chickasaw bluff into a thriving center of transportation, commerce, and industry that became Memphis. Sent there at Andrew Jackson’s request while still barely out of his teens, Winchester went on to become the city’s first real estate agent, mayor, store owner, banker, postmaster, and one-man chamber of commerce. His leadership helped establish Memphis as the westernmost outpost of American expansion along the Mississippi River and laid the foundation for its later emergence as one of the South’s most important commercial cities. This first full-length biography of Memphis’s founding father explores ambition, race, politics, and identity in early Tennessee, uncovering a chapter of Southern history that shaped the nation.
Lunch and Learn: “Interpreting the American Revolution from Native Country: The View from Trans-Appalachia, 1763-1783” is Thursday, May 21, from 12 Noon – 1:00 pm. To help mark the 250th anniversary of the Revolution, Dr. Kristofer Ray will examine how dominant narratives of the American Revolution — Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis and the notion of inevitable independence — have shaped popular understanding while reducing Native peoples to collateral damage. Focusing on 1763–1783, he explores Indigenous perspectives on trans-Appalachian affairs and reexamines George Rogers Clark’s campaigns, asking two critical questions: How did the Revolution impact Native Nations? And How did Native Nations influence the Revolution?
The Tennessee State Museum invites the public to this year’s Statehood Day celebrations, commemorating both America 250 and Tennessee’s 230th birthday. In partnership with the Folklife Program at the Tennessee Arts Commission, the Museum will host a special day of programming on Saturday, May 30, with additional events scheduled on Statehood Day, Monday, June 1.
Visitors can enjoy a variety of free family-friendly activities, including Storytime with Miss Tennessee Zoe Scheiderich, guided tours of the exhibit Tennessee Voices, American Stories, hands-on activities and a gallery scavenger hunt, folklife demonstrations and performances throughout the Museum, a special short film and display of the original Tennessee state flag, and the annual festive cupcakes.
For this year’s extended celebration on Saturday, May 30, the Museum is honored to partner with the Folklife Program at the Tennessee Arts Commission, featuring artists from the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, “an initiative created to sustain our state’s diverse folklife traditions and support its traditional artists,” as stated on their website. Now celebrating its ten-year anniversary in 2026, the program has supported over 100 projects and 200 traditional artists across the state working to preserve rare, endangered, and significant Tennessee traditions.
The celebration on Monday, June 1 includes living history print shop demonstrations, guided tours of the Tennessee Voices exhibit, and hands-on history tables throughout the galleries. Learn more about all these events at: tnmuseum.org. Admission and parking are free. The Museum is conveniently located at the corner of Rosa L. Parks Blvd. and Jefferson Street, adjacent to the Nashville Farmers’ Market at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. Open Tuesday-Saturday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.; Closed Mondays. Free parking is available in lot shared by the Museum and the Farmers’ Market.
