'Small plaques, big project:' Historic Clarksville launches displays to remember rich past

Celebrating downtown Clarksville's revitalized state for future generations also includes commemorating its rich past, and local leaders gave their formal nod to history Friday morning.

A brief kickoff event and ribbon-cutting on Franklin Street at Public Square officially launched the Clarksville Then and Now commemorative plaque displays on historic downtown buildings.

The plaques will memorialize the former, or original occupants and uses of many downtown buildings. On the plaques are photographs of the buildings as they appeared in their early history, and electronic QR codes that can be scanned with mobile devices to read about the buildings' histories.

Now, Clarksville's historic downtown offers a resurgent collection of trendy shops and restaurants, but the structures those businesses are housed in should be well-documented and remembered, say project leaders and advocates David Smith and Ellen Kanervo, among others.

"One thing we want to emphasize is, this project is all-privately funded. No city or county tax dollars are being used," Smith, the original creator of Clarksville Then and Now, said moments before the ribbon-cutting at the gazebo near Franklin and First streets.

History with a QR code

"The QR code is now live, so if you scan it with your phone, it will take you through the history of these buildings.," Smith said. "This is just round one of the project. It will be expanded to include more buildings, mostly in the downtown area."

Montgomery County Mayor Wes Golden, in brief remarks, said the effort to provide historical interpretation for locals and Clarksville visitors alike will be using "small plaques for a really big project" to keep the memory of early Clarksville alive.

"We're celebrating the history of our community by understanding where these buildings came from, and how important they are," added Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts.

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'We don't forget'

"This is what makes Clarksville-Montgomery County the best place to live − the fact that we don't forget who we are, and where we come from," Pitts said.

For months, organizers of Clarksville Then and Now have been collecting old photographs of the downtown structures as they once appeared. Those pictures are being displayed on the plaques that are permanently affixed to their corresponding buildings.

Kanervo, executive director, Clarksville Arts & Heritage Development Council, thanked Smith on Friday morning for his vision for the project. Smith is an AHDC board member and local photographer, who saw the idea as a perfect marriage of history and modern revitalization culture.

"In the hundred-plus years these brick buildings have lined Clarksville’s downtown, they have housed dozens of businesses, selling everything from groceries to furniture, to clothing to drugs, and fountain drinks," Kanervo has said. "Clarksville Then and Now will offer visitors views of what downtown looked like fifty to one hundred years ago, and will tell some of the stories of the businesses that have occupied these buildings over the years."

In spearheading the development of Clarksville Then and Now, Smith led the way in securing project sponsors, photographs, and building owner permissions to display the plaques.

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Montgomery County Archives then came in as a project partner, and county archivist Jill Hastings-Johnson, along with AHDC board members Brenda Harper and Carolyn Ferrell, have been researching building histories to give downtown visitors more information.

Kanervo said AHDC board member Jordan Burns has been designing the Clarksville Then and Now webpage and brochure for the project, and Len Stolz has added information on current building owners.

Smith has said he got the idea for Clarksville Then and Now when visiting downtown Silva, N.C. Over time, he discovered that other communities are also doing similar projects.

"I came back to Clarksville and talked with Ellen Kanervo, Mayor (Joe) Pitts and Mark Holleman about it, and they all thought it was a good idea," Smith said.

"Through this project, there will be a plaque on every building on Franklin Street, initially, with a vinyl picture of the building from its earlier heyday on the front of the plaque, the project logos and a QR code to look up the building history electronically."

Reach Jimmy Settle at jimmysettle@theleafchronicle.com or 931-245-0247. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to TheLeafChronicle.com.

This article originally appeared on Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle: Historic downtown Clarksville plaques launched to remember rich past