John Rice Irwin
Encyclopedia
John Rice Irwin is an American cultural historian, and founder of the Museum of Appalachia
in Norris, Tennessee
.
Rice was born in Union County, Tennessee, but while still an infant his family moved twice, and would eventually permanently reside on a farm near Norris, Tennessee
. He served in the US Army infantry in the early 1940s, and later would complete his bachelor's degree
at Lincoln Memorial University
. He also earned his master's degree
at the University of Tennessee
. He married Elizabeth McDaniel in 1954, and the couple subsequently had two children. His wife died in 2008. He currently lives at Norris Health Rehab Center. He became the youngest superintendent of schools in Tennessee in the early 1960s.
His interest in history began at an early age, and was inspired by his grandparents to start a museum. He founded the Museum of Appalachia in 1968, and has since grown significantly in both its size and number of visitors. He has been awarded several accolades and awards, and has eight different published books (seven of which are nationally and internationally distributed).
John Rice Irwin was born on December 11, 1930 in Union County, Tennessee. While he was an infant, Irwin and his family were forced to move because their land would be appropriated and flooded for the Norris Dam
. After settling on another farm
near Clinton, Tennessee
, they were again forced to move for the development of Oak Ridge, Tennessee
, in the early 1940s. They finally moved to a farm near Norris, Tennessee
, where he would stay until he was 18. There, Irwin and his brother were taught how to farm
, hunt
, fish
, and trap animals.
In the late 1940s, Irwin served in the US Army infantry. He completed his bachelor's degree
at Lincoln Memorial University
with majors in history and economics. He earned his master's degree
in international law at the University of Tennessee
. At the age of 31, he was elected superintendent of schools in Anderson County, Tennessee
, becoming the youngest superintendent in Tennessee. Irwin was also good friends with writer
Alex Haley
, and inspired one of Haley's writings with his museum. He and his deceased wife, Elizabeth McDaniel (died in 2008), have had two children: Elaine Meyer and Karen Erickson (died 1999), and three grandchildren: Linsey Meyer, John Rice Irwin Meyer, and Will Meyer. In August 2009, he announced that he was leaving his position as owner of the museum. In an interview on August 28, 2009, Irwin stated:
He currently lives at Norris Health and Rehab Center.
Irwin's interest in human history was provoked by his grandparents' stories. His grandfather once advised him, "You ought to keep these old-timey things that belonged to our people and start you a little museum sometime." Eventually in the 1960s he took that advice to heart. At a public auction
in the early 1960s, he realized that the sales transactions were separating the artifacts of the past from the stories that his grandparents told. A person attending the sale told him that he was going to make a coffee table
from the old spinning wheel
he had just purchased. Irwin said of this conversation, “I just plain hated the idea of that object being hauled to Terre Haute or Dayton and made into a table completely removed from the context of the region, and from the people who made it and used it.” Meanwhile, he spent $4 at the auction to buy an old horse shoeing
box that had been found in the Clinch River
in the aftermath of the deadly Big Barren Creek Flood of 1916. In later years, he said that he bought it not for its value as an antique, but for the history it embodied. His collection grew from that beginning, as he began to travel around the countryside to find and "save the past" in the form of artifacts.
In 1968, Irwin founded the Museum of Appalachia
to house and display his growing collection. By 1980, the museum had grown so large that Irwin left his position as director of the Tennessee Appalachia Education Cooperative to devote all of his time to the museum.
Although the museum started as only a small log building, as of 2010, it has grown to a village-farm complex, comprehending more than 35 original mountain structures, two large display buildings containing thousands of Appalachian artifacts, farm animals, and several gardens. The museum was converted to a non-profit organization in 2003 and in May 2007, the museum announced its formal association with the Smithsonian Institution's Affiliations Program.
, which provides "extraordinary talented individuals." He was honored by the East Tennessee Historical Society
in 1992 as one of nine East Tennesseans "whose accomplishments have distinguished them far beyond East Tennessee," and in 1993, he was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Cumberland College. In 1994, he was inducted into the Junior Achievement of East Tennessee's Business Hall of Fame. Six years later in 2000, he was the recipient of the annual Outstanding Educational Service to Appalachia Award. He is the 2008 recipient of the Trailblazer Award, and in 2009 was named the Anderson Country Hall of Fame.
Museum of Appalachia
The Museum of Appalachia, located in Norris, Tennessee, north of Knoxville, is a living history museum that interprets the pioneer and early 20th-century period of the Southern Appalachian region of the United States...
in Norris, Tennessee
Norris, Tennessee
Norris is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 1,446 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
.
Rice was born in Union County, Tennessee, but while still an infant his family moved twice, and would eventually permanently reside on a farm near Norris, Tennessee
Norris, Tennessee
Norris is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 1,446 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. He served in the US Army infantry in the early 1940s, and later would complete his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
at Lincoln Memorial University
Lincoln Memorial University
Lincoln Memorial University is a private four-year co-educational liberal arts college located in Harrogate, Tennessee.LMU's campus borders on Cumberland Gap National Historical Park....
. He also earned his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
at the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
. He married Elizabeth McDaniel in 1954, and the couple subsequently had two children. His wife died in 2008. He currently lives at Norris Health Rehab Center. He became the youngest superintendent of schools in Tennessee in the early 1960s.
His interest in history began at an early age, and was inspired by his grandparents to start a museum. He founded the Museum of Appalachia in 1968, and has since grown significantly in both its size and number of visitors. He has been awarded several accolades and awards, and has eight different published books (seven of which are nationally and internationally distributed).
Biography
Norris Dam
Norris Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control structure located on the Clinch River in Anderson County and Campbell County, Tennessee, USA. Its construction in the mid-1930s was the first major project for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which had been created in 1933 to bring economic...
. After settling on another farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
near Clinton, Tennessee
Clinton, Tennessee
Clinton is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 9,409 at the United States Census, 2000. It is the county seat of Anderson County. Clinton is included in the "Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area".-Geography:...
, they were again forced to move for the development of Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 27,387 at the 2000 census...
, in the early 1940s. They finally moved to a farm near Norris, Tennessee
Norris, Tennessee
Norris is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 1,446 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, where he would stay until he was 18. There, Irwin and his brother were taught how to farm
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, hunt
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
, fish
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, and trap animals.
In the late 1940s, Irwin served in the US Army infantry. He completed his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
at Lincoln Memorial University
Lincoln Memorial University
Lincoln Memorial University is a private four-year co-educational liberal arts college located in Harrogate, Tennessee.LMU's campus borders on Cumberland Gap National Historical Park....
with majors in history and economics. He earned his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in international law at the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
. At the age of 31, he was elected superintendent of schools in Anderson County, Tennessee
Anderson County, Tennessee
Anderson County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, its population is 75,129. Its county seat is Clinton.It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee, Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, becoming the youngest superintendent in Tennessee. Irwin was also good friends with writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
Alex Haley
Alex Haley
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was an African-American writer. He is best known as the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family and the coauthor of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.-Early life:...
, and inspired one of Haley's writings with his museum. He and his deceased wife, Elizabeth McDaniel (died in 2008), have had two children: Elaine Meyer and Karen Erickson (died 1999), and three grandchildren: Linsey Meyer, John Rice Irwin Meyer, and Will Meyer. In August 2009, he announced that he was leaving his position as owner of the museum. In an interview on August 28, 2009, Irwin stated:
He currently lives at Norris Health and Rehab Center.
Museum of Appalachia
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
in the early 1960s, he realized that the sales transactions were separating the artifacts of the past from the stories that his grandparents told. A person attending the sale told him that he was going to make a coffee table
Coffee table
A coffee table, also called a cocktail table, is a style of long, low table which is designed to be placed in front of a sofa, to support beverages , magazines, books , and other small items to be used while sitting, such as beverage coasters. Coffee tables are usually found in the living room or...
from the old spinning wheel
Spinning wheel
A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from natural or synthetic fibers. Spinning wheels appeared in Asia, probably in the 11th century, and very gradually replaced hand spinning with spindle and distaff...
he had just purchased. Irwin said of this conversation, “I just plain hated the idea of that object being hauled to Terre Haute or Dayton and made into a table completely removed from the context of the region, and from the people who made it and used it.” Meanwhile, he spent $4 at the auction to buy an old horse shoeing
Farrier
A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves...
box that had been found in the Clinch River
Clinch River
The Clinch River rises in Southwest Virginia near Tazewell, Virginia and flows southwest through the Great Appalachian Valley, gathering various tributaries including the Powell River before joining the Tennessee River in East Tennessee.-Course:...
in the aftermath of the deadly Big Barren Creek Flood of 1916. In later years, he said that he bought it not for its value as an antique, but for the history it embodied. His collection grew from that beginning, as he began to travel around the countryside to find and "save the past" in the form of artifacts.
In 1968, Irwin founded the Museum of Appalachia
Museum of Appalachia
The Museum of Appalachia, located in Norris, Tennessee, north of Knoxville, is a living history museum that interprets the pioneer and early 20th-century period of the Southern Appalachian region of the United States...
to house and display his growing collection. By 1980, the museum had grown so large that Irwin left his position as director of the Tennessee Appalachia Education Cooperative to devote all of his time to the museum.
Although the museum started as only a small log building, as of 2010, it has grown to a village-farm complex, comprehending more than 35 original mountain structures, two large display buildings containing thousands of Appalachian artifacts, farm animals, and several gardens. The museum was converted to a non-profit organization in 2003 and in May 2007, the museum announced its formal association with the Smithsonian Institution's Affiliations Program.
Legacy and accolades
John Rice Irwin is generally known as the founder of the Museum of Appalachia. He is also the author of seven nationally and internationally distributed books. He has lectured on the subject on Appalachian history though out the eastern United States. In 1989, Irwin was one of 29 MacArthur Fellows ProgramMacArthur Fellows Program
The MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T...
, which provides "extraordinary talented individuals." He was honored by the East Tennessee Historical Society
East Tennessee Historical Society
The East Tennessee Historical Society , headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of East Tennessee history, the preservation of historically significant artifacts, and educating the citizens of Tennessee...
in 1992 as one of nine East Tennesseans "whose accomplishments have distinguished them far beyond East Tennessee," and in 1993, he was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Cumberland College. In 1994, he was inducted into the Junior Achievement of East Tennessee's Business Hall of Fame. Six years later in 2000, he was the recipient of the annual Outstanding Educational Service to Appalachia Award. He is the 2008 recipient of the Trailblazer Award, and in 2009 was named the Anderson Country Hall of Fame.
Works
| Year | Title | Publisher | ID | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | The story of Marcellus Moss Rice and his Big Valley kinsman | Times Print Company | ||
| 1982 | Baskets and Basketmakers of the Appalachias | Schiffer Publishing Schiffer Publishing Schiffer Publishing Ltd. is a publisher based out of the "Schiffer Book Farm" in Atglen, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles east of Lancaster. It specializes in books about antiques, architecture and design, arts and crafts, collectibles, lifestyle, military and aviation history.-External links:***... |
ISBN 9780916838614 | |
| 1983 | A People and Their Quilts | ISBN 9780916838874 | ||
| Guns and Gunmakers of Southern Appalachia | ISBN 9780916838812 | |||
| Musical Instruments of the Southern Appalachian Mountains | ISBN 9780916838805 | |||
| 1985 | Alex Stewart; Portrait of a Pioneer | ISBN 0887400531 | ||
| 1987 | The Museum of Appalachia story | ISBN 9780887401022 | ||
| 2000 | A People and Their Music: The Story Behind the Story of Country Music | ISBN 9780764309427 |