Historic Nashville, Inc. Sacred Sites Survey Project, 1946-2003 (bulk 1999-2003)
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Organized into two series: I. Administrative; II. Survey.,Series II arranged alphabetically by name of congregation, business, or building.

Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.

Negatives shelved separately.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Negatives restricted to staff use only.

Abstract: Records of the Sacred Sites Survey Project of Historic Nashville, Inc., conducted between 1999 and 2003, encompassing a survey of houses of worship in Davidson County, Tenn. over fifty years old as of 2000.

Scope and content: The bulk of the collection is comprised of the church survey forms and photographs of the churches. The collection also includes administrative papers which provide information about the creation and implementation of the project, including preliminary research. The survey forms contain architectural descriptions, information on past and present uses for, special features of, overall condition of, and suggestions for maintaining each building. The forms occasionally also show whether church archives, histories, and cemeteries are available for each congregation. In many cases, photographs and surveys were taken of buildings that once housed a place of worship and have now been converted to business use, but still have preserved the unique qualities of the original building. In other cases, the church building has been destroyed and the survey was conducted on the new building, whether it belongs to the same congregation, a different congregation, or even a new business unaware that the lot once housed a church. A few buildings may have housed a religious-affiliated organization, though not explicitly a house of worship, such as schools, charities, or other similar groups. The focus of the project is on historic sites in Davidson County, Tenn. whether they are synagogues, churches, former churches, chapels, or meeting houses. These records can be used for studies of not only local religious history, but also business history, urban development, lost architecture, and architectural reuse.

Cite as: [file name]; [subseries and series name]; Historic Nashville, Inc. Sacred Sites Survey Project, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library

Historic Nashville, Inc. transferred any copyright they held in these materials to the Public Library Board at time of donation. However, there may be some items for which they did not hold copyright, and therefore rights were not transferred to the Nashville Public Library.

Historic Nashville, Inc.;,Gift;,2003.,Acc. 2003.080.

Fletch Coke;,Gift;,2007.,Acc. 2007.015.

The Sacred Sites Survey Project was a project of Historic Nashville, Inc. The Nashville Town Committee of the Colonial Dames, motivated by the demolition of the historic 128-year old Madison Presbyterian Church to make way for a Jack-In-The-Box, provided the idea and the first-phase funding for the project. Negotiations between the two organizations began immediately to plan the future endeavors of the project. The survey was to include all houses of worship in Davidson County over 50 years old, comprising more than 150 locations. An intern, Stephen Guenther, was contracted to compile a list of locations and develop a volunteer surveyor program. Susan Richardson, executive director of HNI, oversaw the project at an administrative level and hired another intern, Ed Salo, to develop the survey form and assist with the project. HNI partnered with the national organization Partners for Sacred Places in order to further understand the task of documenting and preserving historic sacred sites. In fall 2000, the Project began using trained volunteers to complete standard survey forms on churches assigned to them and to photograph these churches using cameras provided by HNI. Information recorded by the volunteers included architectural style, condition, history, architect, and other unique features. The information compiled through the survey was originally intended to be added to an online database on the HNI website. It was also to be used to plan workshops to aid congregations in the maintenance of their historic building(s) and records. In 2003 HNI donated the files of this project to the Nashville Public Library.

In 1968 the Historic Sites Federation of Tennessee was formed. The name was changed to Historic Nashville, Inc. in 1974. Historic Nashville, Inc. was organized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a stated purpose to document and preserve the cultural, historical, and architectural heritage of Nashville. This group was instrumental in saving Union Station, the Ryman Auditorium, and many other historic buildings. For many years, they held an annual Market Street Festival to raise awareness of the historic nature of downtown's Second Avenue. In 2003, their records were donated to the Special Collections Division of the Nashville Public Library.

In English

Finding aid available in repository;,folder level control,https://assets.library.nashville.org/documents/finding-aids/Special_Collections_Division_Finding_Aid_HNI_Sacred_Sites.pdf.

Records created by and in the custody of Historic Nashville, Inc. until donation to the library in 2003.

Process;,2007;,Amanda Pitt and Linda Barnickel.

No further accruals are expected.

Book jacket image digital identifier: SSSP - St Augustine Episcopal