Customs House Museum & Cultural Center

08/31/2026

On this last day of meteorological summer and August’s last Monochrome Monday, we look ahead to a colorful season filled with holidays, flavor, and activities in our city, including all that the Customs House Museum has planned.

Check all our September Happenings here: https://mailchi.mp/customshousemuseum.org/septemberhappenings

Tomorrow, the new issue of the Museum’s publication, Second & Commerce, will be available online. This fall issue's official launch will take place on September 17 at Leatherwood Distillery, open and free to the public.

Ahead are cemetery tours at historic Greenwood Cemetery, programs for families, art activities, events, a store book sale, exhibitions and so much more.

TODAY is also the last day to purchase a $100+ MEMBERSHIP and you will receive a FREE Historic Clarksville, Third Edition hardback coffee‑table book. Find out more about this offer here: https://customshousemuseum.org/become-a-member

Read the stories, discover Clarksville’s tapestry, and enjoy this beautiful stretch of weather and time between two seasons, each with so much to offer in our beautiful county.

Featured public art, sculpture by Scott Wise, The Day After, also known as “The Seated Piece"

https://customshousemuseum.org/news/public-art-in-clarksville-4-outstanding-statues

08/30/2026

Storytime & Craft: Skyscraper Day

September 3 | 10:30 a.m. | All ages, with adult | Free with membership or paid admission

In honor of skyscraper day, we’ll read books about these super tall buildings and design a cityscape as the craft.

*All parents are expected to participate with and supervise their children.

08/29/2026

Coming Soon: Our fall issue of Second & Commerce magazine will be available in September and features a story on the Clarksville Female Academy written by Roxanne Jenkins, the Historical Interpreter for Ft. Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center, who will join us at Leatherwood Distillery for History on the Rocks from 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 17. Make plans to join us! Leatherwood Distillery is whipping up some unique cocktails for the evening.
Until then, be on the lookout for the new fall issue from Clarksville/Montgomery County's arts, history, and culture magazine, Second & Commerce.

08/28/2026

Our latest blog post in the ongoing series on public art in Clarksville explores two works with connections to military service, remembrance, and the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Written and photographed by Shana Thornton, “Reverence Represented in Public Art” features the Blue Star Memorial at 1290 Madison St. and Pillars of Hope at Veterans Plaza, a sculpture created through the combined talents of community members and representing the twin towers destroyed during the 9/11 attacks.

As the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, we invite you to learn more about these works and what they represent.

Read it here:

Clarksville's Art Walk is downtown's busiest monthly free event. Every first Thursday of the month from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m., many downtown businesses and organizations open their doors to share the work of local artists, which is usually the visual arts (paintings, collage, photographs, sculpture, and m...

08/28/2026

Here's a peek into "A Gathering of Women" exhibition, which includes artifacts, artwork, documents, and textiles. On view through September 27 at the Customs House Museum.

08/27/2026

This piano runner crazy quilt has many personalized details. From the "Piecing the Past: Quilts from the Collection" exhibit, this quilt and others are on view through October 22. This exhibition is sponsored in part by F&M Bank for America's 250th.

08/26/2026

It's National Dog Day, and the Customs House Museum has several tributes to dogs in our collection. This image is by an unknown photographer, and we don't know the name of the man or the dog, but we love that he is out by the fields in his rocking chair with a look on his face that shows he views his dog as his best friend. Photo ca. 1917-1919. Donor: Mary Bates Eager. Courtesy of the Customs House Museum's Collection.

08/25/2026

We feel the sadness of a world without Dolly Parton, but we also feel gratitude and peace for having shared our time with such a profoundly treasured human being who brought kindness, generosity and light into the lives of so many.

Dolly loved her family, her home and her Tennessee roots.

Through her music, her generosity and her care for others, she touched lives not only across Tennessee but around the world.

Her songs became companions, comfort and inspiring beacons for so many of us…

Her heart, voice, mind, accomplishments and extraordinary legacy have left an enduring mark and they will continue to guide and inspire us for ages.

She may have left her Tennessee home, but she will never leave our hearts.

She lives on in the music she gave us, the lives she changed and all the memories.

Now, her spirit has found its eternal home. 🦋

Featured from the Customs House Museum’s Collection: “My Tennessee Mountain Home” by Dolly Parton, a blue folder containing three items of music.

Donor: Benita Martin, Tennessee 200 Committee Chairman

08/25/2026

Next week is the first week of September, so get ready for Art Walk. We are open and free to the public from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, September 3. Come out and see our new exhibitions!

08/24/2026

We’re closed today, but we’ll be back open tomorrow at 10 a.m.

We hope you’ll cross the street and come see us during your downtown stroll.

This photograph from the Museum’s collection captures downtown Clarksville’s Franklin Street between 1939 and 1942, with Joy’s Jewelers on the right. The shop opened in 1939. Signs for the Nashville Banner and Nashville Tennessean can be seen on the left, while cars fill the street.

Through Sept. 7, we’re proud to participate in the Blue Star Museums program, offering free admission to active-duty U.S. military personnel, including National Guard and Reserve, and their families, up to five family members.

We’re open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. Regular admission is $12 for adults, with discounts for seniors, military, college students and CMCSS teachers. Children ages 3-17 are $5, and Museum members and children 2 and under are free.