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RURAL HERITAGE TRUST OF
SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE
AWARDED A TENNESSEE
AMERICA 250 GRANT FROM
THE TENNESSEE COMMISSION
FOR THE UNITED STATES
SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL.
THE GRANT
WILL BE USED FOR TWO
PROJECTS:
1] A GRAPHIC TEXT PANEL
ABOUT THE CENTURIES-OLD
HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE
AND PLACES OF THE
GREATER SHELBY FOREST
AREA, AND
2] POWERPOINT
PRESENTATIONS ABOUT “20
PEOPLE FROM RURAL SHELBY
COUNTY THAT INFLUENCED
AMERICA.”
Shelby County, Tennessee – July 15, 2026. The Rural Heritage Trust of
Southwest Tennessee (RHT)
is a recipient of a
$7,000 grant for
Tennessee America 250
initiatives from the
Tennessee Commission for
the United States
Semiquincentennial. The
grant award will be used
for the research and
development of a graphic
text panel for the
Greater Shelby Forest
Area, about the
generational families
and small communities
that surround Meeman-Shelby
Forest State Park,
before its inception as
a state park in 1944,
during the park’s growth
years in the 20th
century, and now on into
the middle of the 21st
century.
Its inception came from
the same newspaper
editor, Edward Meeman,
that had previous
created a similar
coalition of media
sources, politicians,
community leaders and
garden clubs in East
Tennessee to form what
became the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park
in 1940. As a result of
the State of Tennessee
thus reclaimed 13,000
acres of worn out “dust
bowl era” farm lands in
West Tennessee, and
eroding bluffs along the
Mississippi River, to
become one the largest
state parks in the
statewide system.
Stories and images of
generational families,
churches and cemeteries,
of land conservation,
and of accomplishments
by individuals that made
significant impacts for
the nation will be
highlighted.
In addition to the
graphic text panel
mentioned above, two
Powerpoint programs will
be developed featuring
20 people that came
from, or came into
Northern Shelby County,
and by their activities
and/or achievements
here, made a significant
impact on the nation,
and the world! People
such as an educator from
Arlington who was at
Tennessee Gov. Roberts’
side in 1920 when he
signed the legislation
that made Tennessee the
36th state and decisive
state needed to
enfranchise all women in
America; the proponents
of the Baker vs. Carr
lawsuit establishing the
“one person, one vote”
concept in America; an
inventor who patented
the first mechanical
cotton picker, the
repeating rifle, and the
lady’s pocket pistol;
the first female in
America to have both a
commercial pilot’s
license and a
professional mechanic’s
license; an
African-American teacher
removed from her seat on
a train from Memphis
while riding to teach in
Woodstock in the 1880s,
and who later was one of
the founders of the
NAACP; the most popular
expert shotgun and rifle
marksman of the era, a
champion game caller and
leading consultant to
the movie industry;
numerous musicians that
created the new sounds
that became a part of
the changing culture of
America in the middle of
the 20th century, and on
and on.
RHT will create an
outreach program to take
these presentations to,
and spread the good word
about the achievements
of the people in a
largely overlooked
portion of rural Shelby
County, to audiences in
Memphis and surrounding
counties.
The State of Tennessee
made available funding
to be administered by
the Tennessee State
Museum, on behalf of the
Commission to support
statewide America 250
activities.
The second round of the
Tennessee America 250
grant program was a
highly competitive
process. In total, the
Commission received 365
applications, totaling
$6,364,017 in requests.
The Commission has made
full or partial awards
and grants for 194 of
those requests across
the state, representing
73 counties, for a total
of $2,267,058 awarded. A
complete list of second
round Tennessee America
250 grantees, counties
and amounts is posted at
www.tn250.com.
“I am inspired by the
excitement across the
state to commemorate our
nation’s 250th
anniversary,” said
Ashley Howell, Executive
Director of the
Tennessee State Museum
and Chair of the
Tennessee Commission for
the United States
Semiquincentennial.
“This year will be
filled with exhibitions,
programs, festivals, and
preservation of our
local and state history.
We hope that these
projects inspire
Tennesseans across the
state to engage with the
anniversary in 2026."
“The vision of the
Tennessee America 250
Program to provide
community support grants
to hundreds of entities
large and small in all
corners of the expansive
State of Tennessee is
both groundbreaking and
monumental, during a
time when many small
non-profit groups are
stretched in finding
such resources. This
opportunity represents
“the true spirit” of
what America is all
about in commemorating
this - its 250th
birthday,” said
Rural Heritage Trust
co-founder Jimmy Ogle.
The Tennessee America
250 Project Support
Grants and Community
Support Grants had
maximum request amounts
of $20,000 and $25,000,
respectively. All
projects funded in the
second round must be
completed by April 30,
2027.
About Rural Heritage
Trust of Southwest
Tennessee
The mission of Rural
Heritage Trust of
Southwest Tennessee is
to identify, advance and
preserve the historical,
cultural, agricultural
and natural resources on
the northern and eastern
periphery of Memphis
(“the Crescent”), to
educate the public
concerning those
resources, and to
promote more active and
informed engagement in
those resources by
residents and visitors.
www.ruralheritagetrust.com.
About Tennessee
Commission for the
United States
Semiquincentennial.
The Tennessee Commission
for the United States
Semiquincentennial was
legislatively
established by Public
Chapter 384 of the
Tennessee General
Assembly in 2019. The
Assembly created the
Commission to plan,
encourage, develop, and
coordinate the
commemoration of the
250th anniversary of the
founding of the United
States, and recognize
Tennessee's integral
role in that event and
the impact of its people
on the nation's past,
present, and future. For
more information on
Commission activities,
please visit
www.tn250.com.
About Tennessee State
Museum
Celebrating its 88th
Anniversary in 2025, the
Tennessee State Museum,
is the administrative
attachment of the
Tennessee Commission for
the United States
Semiquincentennial. The
Museum is located on the
corner of Rosa L Parks
Blvd. and Jefferson
Street at Bicentennial
Capitol Mall State Park.
It is home to thousands
of years of Tennessee
history, art, and
culture. 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.
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FOOD TRUCKS
THURSDAY, JUNE 25
