SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Series 1:  Businesses (12 linear feet)
The Business series consists of store ledgers, advertising materials, time books, maps, newspaper clippings, and daybooks.  Included are papers from the transportation, communication, entertainment, service, manufacturing, retail, financial, and professional industry segments, including railroads, steamboats, and taxis; telephone companies, newspapers, and radio stations; theater and racetrack, sawmills, blacksmith shops, grist mills, milk processors, auto repair, plumbers, dry cleaners, and restaurants; Nissan automobile and Singer plants; grocery, shoe, and clothing stores; and banks, insurance agencies, real estate agencies, funeral homes, attorneys, and physicians.  (Additional information on owners of these businesses may be found in Clubs and Physicians series.)

Series 2:  Churches (9 linear feet)
Although some membership books date to the early 1900s, most of this series spans the 1950s through 1980s.  In addition to membership lists, materials include bulletins, directories, newspaper clippings, lessons, finance reports, committee proceedings, missionary society records, programs, and various other papers.  A few compiled histories of various churches in Smyrna and the surrounding area complete the series.  Many denominations are represented including Church of Christ, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Nazarene, and Cumberland Presbyterian.

Series 3:  Clubs/Organizations (3.5 linear feet)
Several clubs, groups, and fraternal organizations are represented in this series with papers, publications, and histories.  Groups represented include Boy Scouts, Business & Professional Women, 4-H Club, Girl Scouts, The Grange, Home Demonstration Club, Junior Order of American Mechanics, Chamber of Commerce, Ku Klux Klan, Lion’s Club, Masons, Order of Pale Face, Ruritan Club, Smyrna Golf Club, Sons of American Revolution, United Daughters of the Confederacy, and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Series 4:  Communities (9 linear feet)
The Communities series includes papers, maps, blueprints, newspaper clippings, tax records, voting records, municipal records (including fire, police, water, electric, etc.), cemetery information, compiled histories, obituaries, telephone books, and memorabilia.  In addition to Smyrna, the towns of Fosterville, Lavergne, Jefferson, and Murfreesboro are represented.

Series 5:  Federal Projects (2.5 linear feet)
Newspaper clippings, maps, land deeds, cemetery relocation plans, and various publications mark the development of Percy Priest Lake and Sewart Air Force Base.  The extensive collection of deeds and property ownership, reservoir, and Cumberland River basin maps makes this series particularly valuable in documenting land now under water.

Series 6:  Memorabilia (1.5 linear feet)
The majority of items in this series are cardboard advertising fans, some dating back to 1920, depicting scenes ranging from Biblical to “Gibson Girl” to pastoral.  Items such as reel-to-reel movies, magazines, prints, political campaign posters, and collectibles.

Series 7:  Military (.5 linear foot)
A bound copy of Smyrna author Adeline King’s letters to World War II soldiers as well as newspaper clippings, government issued handbooks, and other ephemera constitute this series.

Series 8:  People (7 linear foot)
Genealogical documents including compilations, research notes, and letters provide a rich source of family history on several families including Bell, Blackman, Childress, Edmondson, Hoover, King, Lee, Mason, and Tune.  Some contain information regarding European roots as well as Revolutionary and Civil War ancestry. This series also includes 19^th Century diaries, letters (some Civil War), newspaper clippings, death notices, political memorabilia, scrapbooks, and miscellaneous papers.  Surnames include: Batey, Bell, Collier, Davis, Edmondson, Gooch, Hager, Hibbett, Hoover, Keeble, Page, Ridley, Sanders, and Smith.

Series 9:  Physicians (.5 linear foot)
Among the papers (some dating back to 1815) of various area doctors are diplomas, newspaper clippings, druggist’s alcohol records, compiled histories, and records of Smyrna Medical Society.  Physicians include Bennett, Bracken, Davis, Burkitt, Charlton, Davis, Engles, Ewing, Gaines, Gracy, Gray, Lowry, Patterson, Reed, Sanders, Shipp, Sneed, Thomas, Waldron, and Warmuth.

Series 10:  Publications
The Publication Series contains magazines.

Series 11:  Sam Davis (2.25 linear feet)
The “Boy Hero of the Confederacy,” whose home is preserved near Smyrna, is a source of much local and Civil War interest.  This series contains newspaper clippings, plays, songs, poems, radio and video scripts, and correspondence and records of the Sam Davis Home and Memorial Association.

Series 12:  Schools (15 linear feet)
While the series includes information and photographs of many area schools, the evolution of Smyrna High School from the early 1900s to the mid-1970s is especially well documented.  Items of interest include photographs, graduation invitations, school newspapers, yearbooks, cheerleader uniforms, sports record books, and play programs.  Among the schools represented are Thurman Francis Junior High, Kittrell High, Central High, Tennessee College for Women, State Teachers College, and Nashville College for Young Ladies.  Late 19^th Century to early 20^th Century schools included are Lone Oak, Jefferson, Cedar Grove, Rock Dale, Rock Spring, Rocky Fork, Seminary, Sneed/Sanders, and Smyrna Fitting School.       

Series 13:  Shows/Fairs, 1914-1994 (.5 linear foot)
Advertisements, newspaper clippings, programs, and other publications about horse shows, circuses, fairs and Tennessee Aviation Days comprise this series.

Series 14:  Nashville (1.5 linear feet)
The Nashville portion of the collection has many of the same divisions as the Smyrna section – churches, clubs/fraternities, and schools – and contains publications, letters, and newspaper clippings relating to the architectural, agricultural, municipal, music, business, and political history of Nashville.

Related Materials
All photographs and negatives from the Hoover Collection are stored separately in the Hoover Photograph Collection.

Processing Note
The Hoover collection  contains a number of books that could help a researcher with topics, such as the Civil War, slavery, and reconstruction.  Textbooks from throughout the nineteenth century are also housed in the Hoover collection.