Jeff Krinks, Author at Historic Collinsville

April 2024 E-news

Don’t Miss the Fun on Opening Day: Saturday, April 13

Are you ready?! Our 2024 season opens Saturday, April 13, with a special theme: Full STEAM Ahead! Join the fun from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and experience science, technology, engineering, art and math (“STEAM”) projects alongside skilled tradesmen and period-dressed docents. Artist Tracy Bettencourt and geologist Lennie Fottrell will be on-hand with unique displays and presentations. All activities are included with special event admission: $14 per adult, $8 per child ages 3-12, children under 3 free with a paying adult. We hope to see you there!

New This Year: Weakley House Museum

Opening for the first time this year, the Weakley House Museum was the home of Historic Collinsville founders Glenn and JoAnn Weakley. The home’s humble beginnings date back to 1905 as a tenant house on a family farm. The Weakleys moved into the home in 1960 and began renovations that continued until the 1980s. The unique home contains the couple’s many collections and the stories that accompany them. Inside guests will find items that reflect the couple’s passion for antiques, hunting, quilts and more. Included with general admission. Be sure to make time for a guided tour on your next visit!

Check out some of the special items below, which you’ll see when visiting the Weakley House Museum, plus much more!

Victorian Furniture
View a Victorian Renaissance Revival Hunt Board that once belonged to a very renowned governor of Tennessee.

Musket Rifle
See a Kentucky Long Rifle up close that would have been carried by Daniel Boone as he crossed over the Appalachian Mountains into Tennessee with a group of long-hunters.

Quilts
Quilts are truly Americana and can be works of art. This one is possibly pre-Civil War, and our collection is vast, ranging from the mid-1800s to 1990s.

Second Saturdays
Also new in 2024, make plans to enjoy special activities on Second Saturdays at Historic Collinsville every month throughout the season! Each event features a unique theme, from gardening and quilting to history and art. Don’t miss the fun!

Tentative schedule (subject to change):

April 13: Full STEAM Ahead
May 11: Planting Day
June 8: Montgomery County Heritage Day
July 13: Family Field Day and Picnic
Aug. 10: Quilt Show and Tell
Sept. 14: Storytelling by Day and by Night
Oct. 12: Create at Collinsville
Nov. 9: Let’s Talk Turkey
Dec. 14: An 1860s Christmas

Clarksville Offers Hauntingly Good Time in October

Boo! Things are about to get a little creepy around Clarksville as October ushers in some spine-chilling options for encountering the area’s mysterious side.

Visitors can experience Historic Collinsville Pioneer Settlement in the dark during its Lantern Tours, Oct. 13 & 14, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Walk through the near-darkness and hear tales from Montgomery County’s past, some scary and some not, but all true. Do ghosts really wander the grounds? Perhaps you’ll find out!

Lantern Tour special event admission is $10 per adult, $5 per child ages 6-12, and ages 0-5 are free. Space is limited, and advance registration is available at https://historiccollinsville.com/events/

Take a spooky stroll through the winding paths of Greenwood and Historic Riverview cemeteries during Cemetery Walking Tours hosted by the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center on Saturdays through Oct. 28. Hear tales full of local history and intrigue. Plus, learn about the cemeteries’ history and the notable figures interred there.

The Riverview Cemetery has existed since February 23, 1800 (when Clarksville was no more than a village), on land donated by Valentine Sevier near the confluence of the Cumberland and Red rivers. Greenwood Cemetery is also one of Clarksville’s oldest active cemeteries, established in 1872.

Tickets for the walking tours must be purchased in advance and space is extremely limited. Please note, the grounds of Riverview Cemetery are not handicap accessible. For more information, visit customshousemuseum.org.

Don’t be frightened, but two popular events are wrapping up in October. Your last chance to experience Downtown @ Sundown is Oct. 20, and the final show of the Jazz on the Lawn concert series at Beachaven Vineyards & Winery is Oct. 28. Hurry, or you’ll be “witch-ing” you had gone!

October 2023 E-news

Scroll down to read this month’s articles!

Collinsville Characters’ Halloween

By Kristy Proctor

I look outside and there’s something there
Gives me goosebumps and raises my hair
It’s time for Halloween

John Montgomery’s ghost goes riding by
With sights of the past in each eye
Ghosts ride on Halloween

John McAlister’s bones, oh so old
Shine at night like 1800’s gold
Bones glow on Halloween

Peyton Lewis- his eyes wet and red
Memories of war stirring in his head
Soldier’s weep on Halloween

Samuel Roberts is on the prowl
He’s hurt once again and howls a howl
Victims yell on Halloween

Kitty Roberts moans for her sweet spouse
Crying in her centuries-old house
Widows mourn on Halloween

Roselie Cline scratches the chalkboard
Showing 19th Century skills explored
Teachers teach on Halloween

The teacher’s house is empty tonight
Everyone left while screaming in fright
People run on Halloween

The Weakley children not gone away
protect their old homeplace to this day
spirits watch on Halloween

The guests at Historic Collinsville-
Oh, some have passed on and some are real
People visit on Halloween

So, come see the site in your own way
come in the night or come in the day
Not just on Halloween

A Butter Churning Tall Tale

By Kristy Proctor

The Weakley Boys and a Butter-Churning Frog…

This story is about two boys, a frog, and a butter churn. In a small house in a rural 1800’s settlement, there lived two very active, very clever boys. It was the family rule in the 1800’s home that the two youngest boys had the chore of churning butter. But, since this was considered real work and not much fun, the boys came up with a “butter” idea- “butter” than any idea they had ever thought. They would fill the churn with cream and wait until their mother left the kitchen. Then, they would lift the lid of the churn and toss in a big ol’ bullfrog. The boys would then run off and go swimming in the pond for a couple hours. While they were gone, that big frog would be jumping up and down trying to get out of the churn. Of course, all the time he was jumping he was sloshing that cream around something fierce.

When the boys returned, they lifted the lid to find that bullfrog sitting right on top of a big chunk of freshly churned butter. They carefully lifted the frog out and let him hop away to live in fear of the next day of butter churning. The family leaped at the chance to butter their bread with fresh butter and never knew why the young boys had such a hoppin’ good time making it!

Deep, Surprising Histories in Clarksville, Tennessee

By Marni Patterson

Read the article in GoNOMAD>

Art Abounds in Clarksville This September

art canvas set up outside — Artist canvas plein air.

Art lovers, unite! September provides the perfect opportunity to take part in artistic events in and around Clarksville. From a competitive “paint-out” to a leisurely “artwalk,” there’s something for everyone.

Artist Kitty Harvill paints on the grounds of Historic Collinsville.

Historic Collinsville Pioneer Settlement in rural Montgomery County is hosting “Create at Collinsville” on Sept. 22 & 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Both days will feature artists at work. Visitors on Saturday, Sept. 23, will enjoy special historical reenactors and craftspeople, including a woodworker carving spoons, a blacksmith, a spinning and weaving demonstration, an artist demonstrating how paints were made using natural pigments and minerals, and musicians playing tunes from the 1800s.

Special event admission is $10 per adult, $5 per child ages 6-12, and ages 0-5 are free.

The event is organized by the Clarksville Arts & Heritage Council, Two Rivers Society of Painters, Downtown Artists Co-op, and Visit Clarksville. Artists are invited to participate in related workshops, a Plein air paint-out, a community quick draw, and a photography contest.

Winners will be featured at the Final Exhibition and Reception on October 5 in F&M Bank’s Franklin Room located at 50 Franklin Street. The event will include an awards ceremony, art sales of pieces created during the Create at Collinsville contests, and live music from Red River Breeze. The Final Exhibition and Reception will coincide with the October First Thursday Artwalk.

people in an art gallery — Artwalk at Clarksville’s Downtown Artist Co-Op.

But you don’t have to wait until then to bask in the creativity of local residents, along with live music, food and drinks! Artwalk happens the first Thursday of every month, including Sept. 7. Visit exhibits from local and regional artists as you stroll the streets of historic downtown Clarksville from 5 to 8 p.m. (weather permitting) The event hub is the Downtown Artists Co-Op, 96 Franklin Street.

Artwalk participating venues:

Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, 200 South Second Street
Mildred & Mable’s Mercantile, 109 Franklin Street
Pups Plants + Goods, 117 Strawberry Alley
Roxy Regional Theatre, 100 Franklin Street
Sanctuary on Main, 334 Main Street
The Clarksville Collection, 131 Franklin Street
Trazo Meadery, 116 Franklin Street
Edward’s Steakhouse, 107 Franklin Street
River City Clay, 115 Franklin Street
Two Birds Coffee Co., 136 South 10th Street
DBO Gallery, 106 North 2nd Street
Downtown Artists Co-Op, 96 Franklin Street
First Presbyterian Church, 213 Main Street
Hudubam, 110 Franklin Street
The New Gallery, 44 Joseph Street
ArtLink, 116 Strawberry Alley

More information about Artwalk.