Metro Historical Commission Foundation

The Metro Historical Commission Foundation was founded in 2012 to assist the Metropolitan Historical Commission in reaching their mission of documenting history, saving and reusing buildings, and making the public more aware of the necessity and advantages of preservation in Nashville and Davidson County. As Nashville continues to grow, so does our mission! It is more important than ever to preserve our history and historic sites for future generations. Below are some of the major projects we have helped fund over the past 10 years. Your donation today ensures that we can continue to fund projects like these, and protect the places that matter most to Nashville.

On December 25, 2020, Nashville was devastated by a bombing on Second Avenue. MHCF was immediately involved in assisting MHC, the Mayor's office, and a host of other local organizations in assessing the damage and planning steps to move forward. On March 26, 2021, we hosted the 2nd Ave Strong fundraiser with The DISTRICT at Wildhorse Saloon, raising money to fund structural assessments and façade repairs to the irreplaceable historic buildings impacted by the explosion.

Since launching on November 14, 2019, Nashville Sites--our free, self-guided, mobile-friendly tour platform--has expanded to over 30 walking and driving across the city, covering everything from art and architecture to the Civil War, Civil Rights, education, and of course music! These tours are accessed by over 1,200 people every month and are supported by partnerships with organizations like Humanities Tennessee, Tennessee Civil War Heritage Area, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Fort Negley, constructed by the Federal Army and formerly enslaved people who sought refuge with them, was the largest inland fortification built during the Civil War. The more we study it, the more we learn: about the people who built the fort, the communities they established around it, and the ways in which we have almost lost all of that history over the decades. MHCF has helped fund two studies at Fort Negley, a Historic Structures Report in 2014 and a Cultural Landscape Report in 2019.

Thanks to funding from MHCF, local archaeologists conducted DNA analysis on 20 burials uncovered during construction at the Nashville Zoo. Identified as enslaved people who worked on the land now owned by the zoo, the remains we interred in a cemetery near the Croft House, where zoo staff can share their stories in their award-winning exhibits at the Morton Cabin.