In the late 1970s, Bobby Fulcher, a naturalist with the Division of Parks and Recreation, began to document and preserve Tennessee's diverse folk culture. In 1979, the agency and its partner, the Tennessee Department of Conservation, received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for the collection and organization of folklife resources. Fulcher hired folklorists, Elaine Lawless, Jay Orr, and Raymond Allen, to carry out this work now known as the Tennessee State Parks Folklife Project.

This work included:

● Recording local musicians, craftspeople, and storytellers in communities around six state parks

● Presenting programs in the parks using those local people

● Documenting local folk art and folklore through film and audio

● Organizing annual community folk arts festivals hosted by state parks

Each folklorist worked within one of Tennessee’s three Grand Divisions (East, Middle, and West). Two state parks in each region were identified as target areas and served as the base from which the folklorist worked. Although grant funding ended in 1984, the Folklife Project continues today.

The Tennessee State Parks Folklife Project produced more than 500 hours of audio tape, 9,600 slides, and 2,200 black and white negatives, including duplicates of historic photographs which had been collected for years by their owners. Now housed at the Library & Archives, the recordings and accompanying photographs include material on traditional quilting, burial customs, storytelling, blacksmithing, herbal medicine, fishing, logging, farming techniques, and music.

Log Cabin quilt blocks can be placed in different configurations to make designs like the one seen here, commonly referred to as “Streak of Lightning.” Photograph by Elaine J. Lawless, 1979.

Log cabin quilt, 1979. Tennessee State Parks Folklife Project Collection, 1979-1984. ID: 34827.

Renowned dollmaker and woodcarver, Polly Page, enrolled in the arts and crafts program at Pleasant Hill Academy in 1929, and later became a leading figure in the craft community. In 2013, she received the Tennessee Folklife Heritage Award. Photographs by Ray Allen, 1979

First image: Polly Page, 1979. Tennessee State Parks Folklife Project Collection, 1979-1984. ID: 34304.

Second image: Close-up of Polly Page carving, 1979. Tennessee State Parks Folklife Project Collection, 1979-1984. ID: 34303.

Fayette County resident and master basketweaver Emanuel “Manny” Dupree works on a split white oak basket at his home five miles south of Somerville, Tennessee.

Emanuel "Manny Dupree, undated. Tennessee State Parks Folklife Project Collection, 1979-1984. ID: 39800.

Visit the Tennessee Virtual Archive (TeVA) to view more photos and recordings from the Tennessee State Parks Folklife Project.