Etowah Depot
The Etowah Historical Commission (EHC) has received notification that it will receive a Capitol Maintenance and Improvement Grant in the amount of $37,562. from the state of Tennessee. Administered by the Tennessee State Museum, the grant will be used to upgrade the Etowah Depot Hallway Gallery and adjoining support rooms.
The Tennessee General Assembly made available $5 million in funding from the 2023-2024 Appropriations Act, “for the sole purpose of providing grants to museums with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or affiliated with a governmental entity for capital maintenance and improvements.”
EHC Chair, Jim Caldwell, said, “The Etowah Depot Museum does not charge admission or membership fees, which limits our ability to generate revenue, so we are grateful to the Tennessee General Assembly and the Tennessee State Museum for providing these much-needed funds.”
The Capital Improvement and Maintenance grant had a minimum request amount of $5,000 and a maximum request amount of $100,000. According to the Tennessee State Museum, the grant was a highly competitive process. In total, the Tennessee State Museum received 170 applications, totaling $12.5M in funding requests for the $5M appropriation. All projects must be completed by June 30, 2024.
“The Tennessee State Museum serves the State of Tennessee through history, art, and culture,” said Ashley Howell, Tennessee State Museum Executive Director. “There is incredible work being done throughout the state by our strong network of Tennessee museums and historic homes. This grant is an extension of how we can further support their efforts and the preservation of local and state history. We thank the Tennessee General Assembly for their support for Tennessee Museums.”
Celebrating its 86th Anniversary in 2023, the Tennessee State Museum, located on the corner of Rosa L Parks Blvd. and Jefferson Street at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, is home to 13,000 years of Tennessee art and history. Through six permanent exhibitions titled Natural History, First Peoples, Forging a Nation, The Civil War and Reconstruction, Change and Challenge and Tennessee Transforms, the Museum takes visitors on a journey – through artifacts, films, interactive displays, events and educational and digital programing – from the state’s geological beginnings to the present day.
Additional temporary exhibitions explore significant periods and individuals in history, along with art and cultural movements. The Museum is free and open to the public Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
For more information on exhibitions and events, please visit TNMuseum.org. The mission of the Etowah Historical Commission is to preserve and share the history of Etowah, Tennessee. The mission is accomplished by caring for the museum’s collection, maintaining an archives, offering educational programs for the public, working with the City of Etowah to preserve the Historic Etowah Depot, and collaborating with other organizations to achieve shared community objectives. Caldwell added, “Improvements to the Hallway Gallery will allow the Etowah Depot Museum to expand its programming through changing exhibits”