Located on 3rd Ave North one block from the Smith County Court House

ESTABLISHING THE MUSEUM

In 2001 an alliance between the Smith County Historical and Genealogical Society
and the Smith County Chamber of Commerce was formed for the purposeof creating
a heritage musueum. A board was selected and began meeting in January 2002.
Charter Board Members are the following:
Don Akers, Don Apple, James Bass, Brenda Bradford, Regina Brooks, John Law,
Sue Petty, C. D. Poindexter, Ted Russell, Nina Sutton, Barbara Upchurch,
Tommy Upchurch, Lois Vaughn, Faith Young and Sue Young.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Mission of the Smith County Heritage Museum is to foster an appreciation
for the the rich history of Smith County, Its land, people, and industry.

VISION

As a public, not-for-profit institution, the Smith County Heritage
Museum will trive to provide a museum in which to collect and preserve
the history of all the communities of Smith County.

STATEMENT OF VALUES

1. Fair and accurate representation of all of the communities that make up Smith County.
2. Achieve the highest professional standards in all that we do.                                       
3. A sprit of cooperation and diversity within ourselves and our community.                  

PROGRESS TO DATE

A charter for the organization was issued by the State of Tennessee, and By-Laws
have been adopted. Non-profit 501(c)(3) status has been granted by the Internal
Revenue Service. Selection of a location for the museum was made by the museum
board. That location is the former W. E. Stephens Building, owned by the city
of Carthage, and located on Third Avenue. The city is leasing the building
to the museum at no cost. Renovation of the building should be completed by
mid-year with limited displays open to the public by the end of the year 2004.