The Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County Government Archives: Twenty-three Years and Counting
By Kenneth Fieth, Metropolitan Nashville Archivist
...we first took the matter of building vaults into consideration and found the court house so awkwardly constructed that the building of vaults would greatly obstruct the light and diminish the space to such an extent as to make this method impractible [sic] and it would cost a very large amount, more than we could recommend to be expended on this diliapated [sic] and ill constructed building.
With that, a committee appointed to "report on what was to be done to preserve the county papers and records" went on to recommend "Wolfi patent roller shelving" and file "cases" to preserve the records of the county in the ante-bellum Davidson County courthouse. The committee suggested this would be a money-saving venture since the shelving and file cabinets could be moved into a new courthouse "which at no distant day we hope to see."
That was 1897. It would be another 39 years before the venerable old courthouse, whose walls bore witness to the days of secession, war, and recovery, was destroyed to make way for a new structure, completed in 1937. Apparently, the shelving and file cases also fell to the journeyman's hammer.
It would be another 44 years before the question of what to do with over 200 years of history was again contemplated. In 1980 Mayor Richard Fulton saw the need to create an archives for the preservation of the historical records of the city and county. The mayor established an archives advisory committee, and work began thereafter to establish an archives for Davidson county.
Mayor Fulton determined that an archives facility should be placed under the Nashville Public Library. In discussions with Public Library Director Marshall Stewart, Mrs. Virginia Lyle, a member of the Nashville Public Library board, was asked to be the first Metropolitan Archivist.
From 1981 to 1985 the Archives consisted of a room in the Stahlman building. In March of 1985 the Metro Council appropriated $150,000 for the renovation of the former Mt. Zeno school, a Metro-owned building on Elm Hill Pike, as the Metro Archives.
Opening in August of 1986, the Metropolitan Archives held some three million records dating from the 1800s to the late 20th century. A second building was planned and work began in 1987. In 1988 severe budget reductions within Metropolitan Government halted construction on the nearly completed adjacent building and called for the closure of the Archives as well as the return of thousands of records to the originating departments.
With pressure from Nashville citizens and historical associations, the Archives remained open, with very limited operating hours and a single staff member throughout 1988-1989. Funding gradually increased, and by 1993 the Metro Archives improved to three staff members and 40 operating hours per week.
In 1994 the Archives began active discussions with the Metro departments that maintained historical records. Working with these departments as well as the Davidson County court system (whose enormous volume of historical records provided some interesting challenges for space allocation), the Archives grew to over five million records dating from the 1780s.
In 2000 the new Green Hills Branch Library was completed, and the old branch building became available for the Archives. Currently the public reference services of the Archives are located in the old building at 3801 Green Hills Village Drive, and records not highly active for research are stored in the Elm Hill Pike building.
In addition to photographic services and digitization of historical records, the Archives offers quarterly exhibits highlighting the history of Nashville and Davidson County. The most recent exhibit, "Play Ball: A Look at Nashville Baseball," included a panel discussion featuring some of the last players from the Nashville Vols and Negro League. The discussion, filmed by Metro Channel 3 and covered by local sports, radio, and television broadcasts, is a testimony to the value of interaction between the community and the local archives.
In 2004 the Metropolitan Government Archives has two buildings, six employees plus volunteers, programs in microfilming and conservation, and a Friends of the Archives group. The two facilities hold over five million records and several thousand volumes. The collection includes 50,000 photographs, 60,000 feet of motion picture film, and thousands of feet of audio and video recordings. These represent the collective memory of our city, establishing our identity and linking us to a long and eventful past.
The Archives' visitors--about 9,000 per year--have come from as near as Hillsboro High School and as far as Sophia, Bulgaria, to gain an understanding of the history of Nashville and how that history is preserved. The Metropolitan Government Archives operating hours are Monday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
