“Preserving the past so the stories will live on and not be forgotten.”
Step back in time as you stroll through and experience life in a typical early village where people lived in a one-room log cabin, received an education in a one-room school and worshipped in a small quaint church. Visit a blacksmith’s shop where cooking utensils and farm equipment were made. Visit a doctor’s office and see the buggy which provided his transportation to make house calls to those in need far and wide. Step inside Sam Houston’s law office and visualize Houston sitting at his desk in front of the fireplace.
Fiddlers Grove Historic Village is located on the grounds of the James E. Ward Agricultural Center in Lebanon, Tennessee. The mission of Fiddlers Grove is to preserve the history of the citizens of Wilson County, Tennessee by preserving buildings, artifacts, oral and written histories. The Village will engage the public through preservation, interpretation, exhibitions, education, publications and hand on experiences to increase a better understanding of the history of Wilson County, and its way of life.
Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on April 17, 1991. The village was named by Dr. G. Frank Burns, a local popular historian, educator and publisher. The name was chosen for one of the first settlers, Edward (Neddy) Jacobs, a legendary fiddler who often played his fiddle at his cabin at the town spring. Those in attendance for the ceremony were: Hale Moss, Brenda Moss, Randall Clemons, John Trice, Alice Trice, Doris Steed, Nelson Steed, Mark McBride, Carlton Thomas, Geneva Thomas, County Executive Don Simpson, Odell Bain, Linda Bain, Joe Perry, Wilma Perry, Donna Macon, Tim Ryan, Frances Sellars, Betsy Sellars Foutch, Mildred Manning, Mildred Gaston, Robert Martin, Vincent Simms, County Historian, and Mark Davis, Chamber of Commerce.
The generous response and support of the businesses of Wilson County, groups and individuals was overwhelming. Donations of building supplies, artifacts, volunteers, and buildings from all over the County were made. When “fair time” came in August, 1991, there were seven buildings in place and areas designated for many more.