Objects

Archibald Roane, second governor of Tennessee, was born in 1760 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He became a lawyer and served with distinction in the Continental Army during the Revolution. Roane arrived in Tennessee in 1788 in the aftermath of the…

Governor Albert H. Roberts was instrumental in obtaining state ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment for woman suffrage. His highly unpopular tax reform, his use of state troops against labor, and his support for women's rights combined to make him one…

The first white settlement in Robertson County was established by Thomas Kilgore, who came there in 1778 claiming land and building a station in 1779 near present-day Cross Plains. Prior to statehood this area was one of the counties in…

Charlotte Reeves Robertson was among the earliest settlers to live in Middle Tennessee. She followed her husband, James Robertson, in a journey from the Watauga settlement of East Tennessee to the wilderness of Middle Tennessee, helping to establish settlements in…

James Robertson, early leader of both the Watauga and Cumberland settlements, has been called the "Father of Middle Tennessee." Born in 1742 in Brunswick County, Virginia, he was the son of John and Mary Gower Robertson. Physically, Robertson stood close…

Theotis Robinson Jr. first gained statewide attention in 1960 when the University of Tennessee refused to admit him due to his race. The previous spring Robinson, who graduated in June from Austin High School, had participated in sit-in demonstrations to…

Rock Castle, a late-eighteenth-century plantation house, was once the home of General Daniel Smith, his wife Sarah Michie Smith, and their two children. General Smith (1748-1818), a well-read and classically educated Virginian, attended the College of William and Mary. A…

Located in Warren County, Rock Island State Park was established in 1969, but its historical significance dates to the region's early settlement. A small village called Rock Island, located upstream from the park's boundaries, was the county's first permanent settlement…

The years between 1945 and 1960 represented the South's greatest period of upheaval in the twentieth century. In music, this period of transformation focused on what popular music observers identify as the rock-n-roll revolution, with the term "rockabilly" representing the…

Rocky Mount, the home of William Cobb, served as the first capitol of the Southwest Territory. William Blount, the governor of the Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio, presided over the newly formed territory from 1790-92.…

A well-known, innovative businessperson, Bert M. Roddy founded the first African-American-owned grocery chain in Memphis. He was born in Augusta, Arkansas, on August 19, 1886, to Jerry and Harriette McKenny Roddy. When he was a young boy, Roddy and his…

Sumner County pioneer Hugh Rogan left his native County Donegal, Ireland, and sailed to the American colonies in 1775. Following the pattern of many Irish immigrants, he entered at the Port of Philadelphia, migrated into North Carolina, then moved west…