By Meghan E. Gattignolo
Stroll around Clarksville and learn about prominent women, entrepreneurs who started businesses in downtown, Black history, the tobacco trade, pioneer and indigenous histories, different disasters in the city’s past, and much more. These free walking tours are offered to the public through May 3. It all began through a new opportunity for learning history, available at Austin Peay State University. Dr. Cate LiaBraaten is the APSU professor behind a new Public History class as part of APSU’s History program, and she’s also behind a tour series featuring her students as guides. For the first time ever, learn local history from college students as they take to the streets of downtown and share researched stories from Clarksville’s past. These tours are being offered for a short time in partnership with the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center.
“Entrepreneurs of Clarksville’s Past” tour by Kelly Loy stops in front of the Blackhorse Pub & Brewery to discuss the historical businesses that were at this location. Photo by Shana Thornton.
Clarksville residents and tourists alike are naturally curious about local history. We know this because places like the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center and Dunbar Cave State Park stay busy with visitors seeking information. It’s always exciting to see Clarksville’s history reinterpreted with fresh eyes, and what a wonderful way to learn with a walking tour given by a passionate guide who has spent some quality time with primary documents. In-person tours are also much more personal than watching a video or reading a book, and you have the opportunity to ask questions. Physical tours are also amazing for helping you to feel the passage of time as you occupy the space where history happened.
On these tours, you’ll get a glimpse of what Clarksville had to go through to get where it is today as the bustling city it is still becoming. The aftermath of natural disasters, human-made disasters, volatile economic changes, pioneer struggles, indigenous histories, and many more topics are discussed on these vibrant tours.
“Her Story in the Streets: Prominent Women of Clarksville” tour by Jennifer Plascencia. Photos by Shana Thornton.
Women played a big role in shaping Clarksville, and in their tours, students Jennifer Plascencia and Victoria Watts provide those stories. Other tours, like “Black History in Clarksville” hosted by student Kennedy Brown and Christian Zeliadt’s “The Story of Hispanic Americans in Clarksville and Tennessee” cover the histories of local minority populations that definitely don’t always get the attention they deserve.
As a public historian herself, Dr. LiaBraaten knows the best way for students to get the most out of their public history education is to teach others what they have learned from their own research. “I am especially excited about these tours because the students are putting their skills to work in the community and are getting experience researching and telling historical stories,” says Dr. LiaBraaten. “The students spent all semester reading public history theory and methodology, and they worked with Montgomery County Archives, the Customs House, and the APSU library to research and write their tours. In class, we talked about tour delivery and about communicating about the past with people, as well as the responsibilities of historians to engage with public audiences.”
“Downtown Clarksville’s Historic Statues” tour by Rex Edmondson and “Entrepreneurs of Clarksville’s Past” tour by Kelly Loy. Photos by Shana Thornton.
The students also got real-world examples before writing their own tours. In preparation, Dr. LiaBraaten says the class visited other local sites such as Dunbar Cave and Ft. Defiance to see how people engage with history work in the community.
Those of us who love history and finding new ways to experience it are excited these tours are happening and hope to see more opportunities to enjoy them in the future. While this specific series of tours is short-lived, the future is bright for this program. It’s possible a tour series similar to this one could pop up again, at least Dr. LiaBraaten is hopeful. “As we develop the Public History program at Austin Peay, I hope to have more partnerships like this one we had at the Customs House!”
Even more exciting is to watch and see whether these students of public history will become new public historians for the Clarksville community!
Only a few tours are left! Grab your spot now to learn local history from some up-and-coming public historians as they share the important work they’ve done this semester.
“Religious History in Clarksville” tour by Richard Carney. Photos by Shana Thornton.
Meghan E. Gattignolo is a freelance writer and longtime Clarksville, TN resident. She loves to obsess about historical subjects and annoy her family daily with unsolicited random facts. Meghan holds a History B.A. from Austin Peay State University and lives in town with her husband and two children.