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News Updates
2 New Exhibits Unveiled At Johnson Historic Site
Source: The Greeneville Sun
by Amy Rose
Date: 2008-08-04
Two new exhibits at the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site Visitor Center were unveiled Sunday afternoon in commemoration of the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery's 100th anniversary.
Nearly 20 people attended the unveiling, which was held 133 years to the day that President Johnson was buried in the cemetery.
Lizzie Watts, superintendent of the National Historic Site, welcomed those attending, including Grady Webb, former superintendent; Milly Abelson, wife of former superintendent Lloyd Abelson; and Elaine Clark, former curator of the Visitor Center museum.
Watts said the new exhibits are a fitting tribute to the veterans who are buried in the National Cemetery and to all veterans across the nation.
The exhibits were unveiled with a ribbon-cutting by Kendra Hinkle, museum technician, and Jim Small, chief of operations of the National Historic Site.
They wore gloves and used tailor's shears from the museum to cut the ribbon.
The interpretive exhibits highlight the history of the National Cemetery and share the story of those who labored to make the cemetery a special place.
The exhibits are located in a corner of the area that houses Johnson's tailor shop.
A display features a finial from the original fence that encircled the Johnson family burial ground, a U.S. War Department shovel and an original artist's drawing of the obelisk over Johnson's grave.
The cemetery began as a family cemetery with the burial of President Andrew Johnson on Aug. 3, 1875, on what was known as "Signal Hill," according to the display.
The Johnson descendants had a vision to honor the 17th president and to provide a resting place for East Tennessee veterans.
The informative display states that when Johnson's daughter, Martha Johnson Patterson, died in 1901, she requested in her will that the site become a "park" in memory of her father.
On the opposite wall of the corner, the display features an original screw from the coffin of Mrs. Johnson's mother after her re-interment in the National Cemetery in 1944.
In 1906, the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery was developed under the jurisdiction of the War Department, according to the display.
By 1908 the 14-acre cemetery was ready to serve the community with nine grave sections.
Today, the cemetery includes 27 sections and is the final resting place of more than 1,800 veterans and their dependents.
For more information, visit the park's Web site at www.nps.gov/anjo
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