“Spring Hill Battlefield” taken in Maury County by Amy Carroll of Culleoka, was awarded Preservationists’ Pick No. 1
“Double Rainbow over the Mayes-Hatcher-Hill Home” by Kathie Fuston of Columbia
The winning photographs of the 2011-2012 “Living Legacies: Capturing the Scenic Beauty of Tennessee’s Civil War Heritage” Photo Contest co-sponsored by Scenic Tennessee and the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area will be at The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County through September 2012.
More than 170 images were reviewed by a panel of judges that included Dr. Spurgeon King, associate director of the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area; Robin Conover, editor and photojournalist at The Tennessee Magazine; and Mack Prichard, Tennessee State Naturalist Emeritus. Amy Kostine, MTSU Center for Historic Preservation graduate assistant, is curator of the exhibit. The goals of this year’s contest were to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War; to broaden and deepen understanding of the war and its significance; and to help tell Tennessee’s full Civil War story by capturing its military, homefront, occupation and emancipation landscapes. It was suggested for entrants to use the Tennessee Civil War Trails marker and signage program as a source for their subjects across the state.
As with past contests, three cash-award winners and several honorable mentions were named in four divisions. The first place winner in the middle-school division was Matthew Cole Farris, a 7th grader at Saint Rose Catholic School in Murfreesboro, for his image of a cannon amidst headstones at Stones River National Battlefield. The top winner in the high school division was Rachel Melton, a home-schooled sophomore from Sharon, whose photo of “Bloody Pond” at Shiloh National Military Park—titled “Keeping History’s Secrets”—is a striking combination of pastoral beauty and tragic history. Top finisher in the crowded adult amateur division was Robert Melgar of Monterey, whose spare, sepia-toned image of the Stones River battlefield has a haunting, scorched-earth quality. And first place in the adult professional division went to Mary Rice of Brentwood for her stark, black-and-white close-up of “Unknown Soldier, No. 7,” an anonymous marker in the Confederate cemetery at Carnton Plantation in Franklin.
“Gregory’s Bald Shrouded in Mourning Still” by Bradley Bull of Jefferson City
In addition to the division winners, two photos were honored as Preservationists’ Picks. The first Preservationists’ Pick was selected for the exhibit’s title panel and shows a rising sun illuminating a lone cannon at Spring Hill Battlefield in Maury County. Amateur photographer Amy Carroll of Culleoka captured this view of what was, until recently, considered one of the “Ten Most Endangered Battlefields” in the country, according to the nonprofit Civil War Trust. Like many battlefields located near modern cities, Spring Hill has faced intense pressure from development, industrial growth and population spread. Since 2010, however, the future of the battlefield is much more secure, thanks to an agreement by General Motors to sell key acreage at a generous discount. “Walking Past History,” by Jennifer Butt of Nashville was the second Preservationists’ Pick and captures the remarkable restoration work being done on the Douglass-Clark House in Sumner County, which will serve as a trailhead interpretative center for the Lower Station Camp Creek Greenway System. The property was home for nearly a century to Emma Douglass Clark and an on-site Civil War Trails Marker tells how all but one of Emma’s four sons died fighting for the Confederacy.
To see the winning images, visit scenictennessee.org and click on “Photo Contest 2011-2012.” For more information, please contact The Heritage Center at 217-8013 or heritage@mtsu.edu.
Located just off the historic Square at 225 W. College St., The Heritage Center is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday and features guided walking tours of the town Square on the hour.
