A Deep and Impressive History

Maury County has a deep and impressive history, and now it’s easier than ever for those who want to learn more about it.

The new Maury County Archives facility on Sixth Street brings all of the county’s records, dating back to 1807, as well as recent and current documents, together under one roof. Now, whether you want to trace your family’s genealogy, get a Real ID, or a multitude of other things, you can do it in one place. 

“The response has been overwhelming,” says Director Tom Price when asked how residents are making use of the new facility since it opened in January. “I'm originally from New York. I moved here in 1996, and I've always been amazed at how the people in Maury County understand the importance of the history of this place."

Price says people come to the archives for a variety of reasons.

“The biggest number involves genealogists, people who are studying their family history,” says Price. “And that’s followed very closely by property researchers. So many people are moving into this area and want to know the history of their properties. And then we have a lot of students and academics who are doing research for papers and publications.”

The goal of creating one central location for county records began nearly seven years ago when Price became director. He’d previously served as curator of the James K. Polk Museum.

“When I came on board, the biggest challenge I saw was space. We had everything from 1807 to 1950 in the archives building that had been converted from the old county jail. Everything else was still housed in the courthouse basement. I knew all of that needed to migrate to the archives, but we needed space to do it.”

Price began researching how to generate the money needed to build a newer, expanded archives facility. He discovered a state law that said if a county has an active public records commission, that commission could enact a five-dollar fee on every record it generated. So, he began looking at the different records where the fee could be applied. 

"That brought in quite a large sum of money," he says, "about $250,000 a year, which I just banked over the next five years. And that paid for the architect's fees, the engineering fees, the groundwork, and pretty much everything right up until the building was coming out of the ground. And the fees continue to be collected and that pays the debt service on the building, as well. So, no direct taxes went into this expansion.”

The state-of-the-art facility came in at a cost of just under $9.6 million. 

With the new facility, Price is looking at additional ways it can serve the community. 

“We have an education center where we’re going to be offering classes for kids and adults. I want every kid in Maury County to come to the archives and learn what we do and understand the history of this place. And I want to offer programs for adults, too, with classes like Genealogy 101, all the way through to the modern stuff with genetic genealogy. We’ve also been able to help the FBI with cold case murders now that the records are all in one place.”

Price, who calls Maury County a ‘crossroads in American history,’ says its records have many stories to tell. He currently shares some of them on a podcast he hosts called “History’s Hook.”

He and his archives staff, Michelle Cannon, Cindy Grimmett, and Amy Egnew, clearly love what they do.

“We’re ready to help anyone who comes through the door, gives us a call, or sends an email,” he says.

Hours are Monday through Thursday, 8am to 6pm, and the Archive is located at 201 E 6th Street in Columbia.