Coming up on Thursday, August 20, 2026, your Tennessee State Museum invtes you to the free public program “Lunch and Learn: Stories in Stone: African American Contributions to the Construction of the Tennessee State Capitol” from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
During the initial phase of construction from 1845 to 1846, enslaved laborers were responsible for clearing the site, preparing the foundation, and excavating the basement of the Tennessee State Capitol. Their work continued in 1848 at the nearby stone quarry, where they cut the massive limestone blocks that would form the Capitol’s walls and columns.
In this Lunch & Learn program, Jeff Sellers, the Tennessee State Museum’s Director of Education & Community Engagement, will share the often overlooked histories of the individuals who built the Capitol. His presentation will highlight the contributions of George Dardis, a free African American porter employed at the Capitol during its construction.
Featured in the Tennessee Voices, American Stories exhibit, Dardis authored one of the earliest published descriptions of the Capitol, documenting many of its original architectural features and providing invaluable insight into its early years.
This Lunch and Learn event is in-person in the Museum’s Digital Learning Center at 12:00 p.m. If you have any questions, please email:
Public.Programs@tn.gov. Boxed lunches made by Apple Spice Nashville are available for purchase for $12.24 to enjoy during the event. The lunches will include a sandwich, chips, and a cookie. Lunch orders must be placed by noon on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. Please order your boxed lunch on the ticket registration page on the Museum’s website.
If you cannot or choose not to attend in person, this and many other similar presentations can be viewed online, free, anytime on the Museum’s website at: https://tnmuseum.org/videos
Learn more about George Dardis and see related artifacts on display at the Museum in “Tennessee Voices, American Stories.”
Your Tennessee State Museum is a treasure that you should dig into on a regular basis either in person or online. There are so many things to examine and during the current Tennessee 250 America 250. They are very special black history moments that you can look up online on the Museum’s website anytime to read, as well as videos from other previous lunch and learn programs and other special presentations.
As an example, in celebration of Tennessee America 250, the Thousands of Stories and Junior Curators blogs in April explored how Ella Sheppard Moore’s early education shaped her life and her leadership of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, in the blog “Who Are the Fisk Jubilee Singers?”
“Turn Back Pharoah’s Army: Ella Sheppard Moore’s Education in Resistance” discusses the creation of the singing group and the journey to save their school, Fisk University. Check out this extraordinary piece of research online at: https://tnmuseum.org/Stories/posts/turn-back-pharoahs-army-ella-sheppard-moores-education-in-resistance
