West Tennessee Historical Society
Serving the 21 Counties of West Tennessee
2017 SHELBY COUNTY HISTORY AWARDS DINNER
6:30 P.M.     WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2
HILLWOOD HALL AT DAVIES MANOR PLANTATION 
3570 DAVIESHIRE DRIVE
  BARTLETT, TENNESSEE
 
Our annual history awards dinner will have several features including the recognition of the Ed Williams History Teacher of the Year Award, recognition of the winners of the West Tennessee History Day District Contest held at the University of Memphis, and maybe a few other surprises
Tickets are $25.00 per person, which includes the buffet dinner and we need your check and reservations by Friday, July 28. Please make the check payable to Shelby County Historical Commission and mail to:                    
                                   History Awards Dinner
                                        c/o Jimmy Ogle
                    4349 Sequoia Road    Memphis, TN   38117
In 2017, some of the history organizations presenting their annual awards will be the West Tennessee Historical Society, Davies Manor Association, Descendants of Early Settlers of Shelby and Adjoining Counties, United Daughters of the War of 1812, West Tennessee Military Vehicle Collectors, Gen'l Forrest Historical Society, Sons of Confederate Veterans, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Daughters of the American Revolution, Shelby County Historical Commission, and more . . .
For information, call Jimmy Ogle at 901-604-5002
Collierville History

The Charles Davis House was placed on the National and Tennessee Registers of Historic Places by the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior on May 8, 2017.
The Charles Davis House, also known as the Davis-Porter House, is located at 1291 East Winchester Blvd., Collierville, TN. The exact year of its construction isn't known, but is thought to be around 1841 by planter John W. Freeman. The house was passed to Charles R. Davis through marriage in 1856, and three generations of the Davis family lived there until it was sold in 1942.
Attorney John Porter and his wife Mary purchased the home in 1945. Porter was a part of the law firm Burch, Porter & Johnson, which represented Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers' strike. The current owner of the house is Jane Porter Field.
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4th Annual Train Heritage Day
at the
Morton Museum of Collierville History
 
Saturday, August 12th 10:00am - 4:00pm
museum morton collierville At this family friendly annual event view model train displays, see inside historic train cars, and learn about other area railroad groups. This year's event will extend to Collierville's Visitor Center on Town Square, located inside the Train Depot. Enjoy music, food, and crafts. Admission is Free.

196 Main Street, Collierville, TN
Museum Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday 10am - 4pm
Closed Sunday, Monday, and Holidays
Phone: 901-457-2650
Admission: Always Free
WTHS Monthly Meetings
The location for the WTHS Meetings is still the same: Memphis University School, 6191 Park Ave., Memphis in Wunderlich Auditorium. The entrance to the meetings on campus has changed.
For the safety of all campus visitors we will no longer use the Park Ave entrance. Please enter campus from the Ridgeway Road entrance (guard house entrance).

Signs will be posted to help you find your way. Please see map of campus for route to Wunderlich Auditorium (#14 on the map).

 Call for Papers for the 2017 edition of the WTHS Papers 
 
The West Tennessee Historical Society Papers welcomes manuscripts on any historical subject within West Tennessee, the state of Tennessee, and the Mid-South region. Research articles should be approximately 7,500 words of double spaced text, have solid grounding in primary and secondary sources, include full citations according to the Chicago Manual of Style, and address the subject's place within the existing historical scholarship and context.
 
  The journal also welcomes and edited documents and primary source submissions. These may include, but are not limited to, transcribed oral histories, letters, speeches, and personal memoirs, as well as literary, archaeological, anthropological, sociological, and philosophical analyses of topics within the journal's geographical area of interest.
 
All manuscripts and correspondence should be directed to the editor Troy Hallsell by September 1, 2017. WTHS, PO Box 111046, Memphis, TN 38111

If you have questions contact Troy at [email protected]
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Board Members 

Edwin G. Frank, President

Linda J. Higgins,

Vice-President for West Tennessee

Dr. Larry Gunderson,

Vice-President at Large

Jimmy Ogle,

Vice President Shelby County

Dr. John E. Harkins,  

Immediate Past President

Michael Freeman, Treasurer

Dr. E. C. Fields,

Assistant Treasurer

Bryan Massey,

Recording Secretary

Troy A. Hallsell, Papers Editor

John Shepherd, Board Member

David Gwinn, Board Member

Paul Matthews, Board Member

Vincent L. Clark, Board Member

Carol Perel, Executive Director
Please consider a donation to the WTHS 
memphis joe

The Society is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) and any gift you make is tax deductible. As we continue to expand our goals to continue our mission, your support is important to us.

Make checks payable to WTHS and mail to PO Box 111046, Memphis, TN 38111. Please contact Carol at 901.276.7154  for any questions you may have regarding your gift.    

We thank you for your support.  
Become a member 
of the WTHS 
Annual Membership Levels: 

Individual - $25    

Institution - $25    

Family/Couple - $35  

Sustaining - $50  

Patron - $100    

Benefactor - $250    

Life - $500  

Crockett/Forrest - $1000

To find out more regarding  benefits, and download a form http://wths-tn.org/membership/

Walking in Memphis
Free Tours with Shelby County Historian
Jimmy Ogle
D'Army Bailey Courthouse 
12:00 noon August 17 

The WTHS August meeting is at the 2017 Shelby County Historical History Awards Day dinner Wednesday August 2 in Hillwood Hall at the Davies Plantation.

The next meeting will be Monday October 2, 2017. We will not meet in September
New on our website
The WTHS website has added two pages:

WTHS Papers and Annual 
Awards. The WTHS Papers page contains the archives for all issues beginning in 1947.  Click on the link "1947 - 2010" to view all contents through the Shelby County's Register's site. At the bottom of the letter click the "I accept this disclaimer" box, and then click "proceed".

Check out both pages for information on awards and submissions to the Papers.

Special thanks to Vincent Clark and Tom Leatherwood our Shelby County Register for making the contents available through the county's website.
About Us:
   

The WTHS is the umbrella heritage organization for the Western Grand Division of Tennessee. Within its twenty-one counties, it supports historical programs, archives, publications, preservation, markers, museums, and other historical collections.
   
West Tennessee Historical Society is a non-profit 501(c)(3) entity chartered under the laws of the state of Tennessee. WTHS activities are free and open to the public. The WTHS does not discriminate in any aspect of membership or participation on the basis of race, gender, religion, ethnicity, or national origin.