<p align="center"><strong>The Transfer to the Library & Archives</s></p>

At the end of the governor’s term, the administration’s papers are transferred to the Tennessee State Library & Archives, the permanent repository for official state documents. The Library & Archives staff process the tens of thousands of records and make them publicly available for future researchers. In addition to correspondence with the public, the Governors’ Papers contain materials related to different initiatives, legislation, pardons, and other official business.

<p align="Center"><strong>How does it work?</p></s>

<p align="center"><strong>About the Governors' Papers</strong></p>

<p align="center"><strong>Visit the Tennessee Virtual Archive (TeVA) to view the digital collection <a href="https://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/customizations/global/pages/collections/earlygovernors/earlygovernors.html">Early Governors’ Papers</a href>.</strong></p>

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Letter to Governor Sam Houston from Sam Brown of Philadelphia, Penn., 1827.

Sam Brown of Philadelphia wrote to Governor Sam Houston about a proposal to establish a public library in every state, including Tennessee. Brown believed this cause would interest the governor because of his previous support of education. The State Library was established in 1854, and it joined with the Department of Archives and History in 1919 to become the Tennessee State Library & Archives.

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Letter to Governor Benton McMillin from State Librarian Lulu Epperson, 1902.

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State Librarian Lulu Epperson invited Governor Benton McMillin to a 1902 Nashville Library Club meeting held at the Tennessee State Library, previously located in the State Capitol.

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Letter to Governor Henry Horton from Keeper of the Archives P.E. Cox, 1931.

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In 1931, P.E. Cox, Keeper of the Archives, wrote to Governor Henry Horton providing a comprehensive list of the “papers of the Governor’s [sic] of Tennessee” that were recently “classified and archived.”