NASHVILLE – Outdoor artifacts at the Tennessee Agricultural Museum will undergo renovations thanks to a grant from the State of Tennessee.

The Oscar L. Farris Agricultural Museum Association (OLFAMA) will use a $39,000 grant to replace roofs on all three museum cabins, including one that sustained severe storm damage earlier this year. As part of the museum’s collection, the historic cabins play an integral role in teaching visitors about how early settlers cleared land, built homes and performed daily tasks.

“The Ag Museum cabins showcase life in Tennessee before electricity and provide a unique hands-on experience,” Agricultural Museum Director Elaura Guttormson, Ph.D., said. “Replacing the roofs using historically accurate methods and materials will help us preserve the integrity of the buildings and ensure they’re safe for visitors for years to come.”

The Tennessee General Assembly made available $5 million in funding from the 2023-2024 Appropriations Act for the purpose of providing grants to museums for capital maintenance and improvements. The Tennessee State Museum will administer the grants that support preservation of local and state history.

The Tennessee Agricultural Museum is a free-admission museum that provides educational programs, exhibits and special events that attract more than 15,000 people annually. The museum includes more than 3,000 artifacts on two levels of exhibits, an heirloom garden, three historic cabins, and a replica schoolhouse.

OLFAMA supports the Tennessee Agricultural Museum through the maintenance, preservation, interpretation, and legal ownership of the museum’s artifact collections. The association also provides volunteers and funding resources to the museum.

The museum is at 404 Hogan Road in Nashville. Follow @TNAgMu on Facebook and @tennessee.agricultural.museum on Instagram to get all the news and highlights from the museum.