Public History
Projects
Listed below are completed and in-progress public history projects
This report includes a narrative about the Coomer property within the Walter Hill community in Rutherford County, Tennessee. The report also includes a preservation assesment for the property's extant historic resources.
Skills employed in the creation of this report include community outreach, public records and archival research, and classification of log and agricultural buildings and structures, in addition to the anaylsis and interpretation of the material culture and cultural lanscape.
Completed in 2024 at the Center for Historic Preservation.
National Register Nomination - Bacon Farm, Georgetown, TN
This National Register of Historic Places nomination documented a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) test-demonstration farm in Hamilton County, Tennessee and nominated the property as being historically significant statewide under criteria A (association with events that made contributions to the broad pattern of history), B (associated with the lives of a significant person in the past), and C (the property embodies the distinctive characterstics of a type, period, or method of construction).
Skills employed in the creation of this nomination include historiographical literature review, architectural classification and description, assessment of the property's significance in architecture and social history, and documenting the property's extant historic resources.
Completed and submitted to the Tennessee Historical Commission in 2025.
These series of maps were created in a graduate level class focused on employing ArcGIS and quantitative analysis in historical research.
The maps depict the architectural development of Cairo, Illinois between 1850 and 1939 using available historic maps including Sanborn Maps and other housing insurance maps. Additional information depicted is the population distribution cateogrized by race and their standard of housing in the mid-twentieth century.
Skills employed in the creation of these maps include using geospatial information systems, cartography, and archival research.
Maps created in April and May 2025.
This report includes a narrative, architectural description, and analysis of architectural significance about the National Register-listed Matt Martin House in Bedford County, Tennessee. The c.1809 Matt Martin House is one of the oldest extant buildings in the county.
Skills employed in the creation of this report includes community outreach, and public records and archival research.
Completed in 2025 at the Center for Historic Preservation.
Trail of Tears Interpretation at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area
Interpretation panels will be about the water routes used in Cherokee Removal that pass through the modern-day Land Between the Lakes National Recreational Area.
Skills employed in this project include archival and manuscript research, ability to work with diverse communities, and theme development in crafting panels that tells the story of Cherokee Removal to a wide swath of diverse audiences.
This project is in collaboration with the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Cherokee Nation.
Sanders Grove School Historic Report and Building Description
Graduate Research Assistants Amelia Blakely and Liz Nahach at the Center for Historic Preservation prepared this report on Sanders Grove School in rural Marshall County under the supervision of the center’s assistant director, Dr. Antoinette van Zelm, and research professor, Dr. Stacey Graham.
The report details the history of the school, rural education in Marshall County, and provides a description of the property and an assessment of the building's current condition. Appendices consist of photos of the building, brief preservation recommendations, and additional materials that outline federal guidelines on restoring historic buildings.
Skills employed in the creation of this report include historiographical literature review, public records and archival research, architectural classification and description, and building conservation.
Report submitted to the Center for Historic Preservation in April 2026.
Exhibit panels were designed for Middle Tennesse State University's Charlie and Hazel Daniels' Military Family Center on MTSU's campus.
Skills employed in the creation of these panels include research and graphic design using Adobe Indesign and Illustrator.
Completed in 2024 at the Center for Historic Preservation.
Completed the establishment of local historical marker with the Rev. Orlando McReynolds and the Illinois State Historical Society in 2023.
Skills employed in this project include public relations, community organization, and ability to work with diverse communities.
Assisted in the research development and set-up of exhibits in the historic Carother's House Museum in Franklin, Tennessee. This project was supported and curated by the Center for Historic Preservation.
My research focus included African American mutual aid societies in Franklin, Tennessee.
Skills employed in this project include archival research, geneaology, and exhibit development.
Assistance in setting up exhibits in the house museum occurred in April 2026.