Customs House Museum & Cultural Center

06/23/2026

This is a special, extraordinary exhibit of Tennessee waterolor artists. The Tennessee Watercolor Society Biennial Exhibition is celebrating its 40th exhibit and its 55th anniversary as a nonprofit. Featured image for the recent summer solstice is "Solstice Sequences" by Faye Ives, with details from her watercolor. More featured images coming soon, but don't wait for that - the exhibition is on view in three galleries of the Customs House Museum through July 19.

06/23/2026

Today is Wilma's 86th Birthday!

We celebrate her enduring spirit and the light she brought into this world on this day in 1940.

She's a daughter of Clarksville (St. Bethlehem) who raced beyond illness and segregation to become one of the world’s greatest athletes.

As a child told she might never walk again after contracting polio, she refused that fate.

She ran, she soared, and in the 1960 Rome Olympics, she captured three gold medals, a feat that redefined possibility for women, for African-Americans, for all of us.

Here in Clarksville, her homecoming parade in October 1960 became our city’s first large integrated public event because she insisted on it being so.

At the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, you’ll find her story preserved in the Raymond C. Hand Gallery, where artifacts and photos speak of her fire, her grace, and her legacy.

We invite you to visit, walk through the exhibit, and reflect on her journey: from Clarksville’s sidewalks to Olympic gold.

Featured: from the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center's Collection - Trading Card, "Track and Field/Wilma Rudolph", published in 1978, Editions Rencontre.

06/23/2026

Thank you to Clarksville Pediatric Dentistry for being a Preview Party Sponsor of Flying High this year! We are ready for Saturday, August 8, 2026, from 5 - 11 p.m. at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel. Tickets are on sale here: https://customshousemuseum.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/customshousemuseum/eventRegistration.jsp?event=82979&

06/22/2026

Join us on Saturday, June 27 from 11 a.m. until noon for Celebrating Samoa, a free cultural experience with traditional dancing and food tasting, at the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center.

06/21/2026

We wish you a Happy Summer!

Featured detail from “The Four Pillars of Income” painting, which hung in the First National Bank of Clarksville.

From the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center Collection.

More details:
PRINT OF A PAINTING "THE FOUR PILLARS OF INCOME" WHICH IS ILLUSTRATED BY A PILLAR FOR SPRING WITH A SHEEP AND A LAMB, A PILLAR FOR SUMMER WITH HAYSTACKS, A PILLAR FOR AUTUMN WITH A COW AND A CALF AND A PILLAR FOR WINTER WHICH AS TO***CO, A FARM HOUSE AND BARN ARE IN THE BACKGROUND; BEIGE MATBOARD FRAME; 2’ 3/4" X 11 1/4".

The “Pillars of Income” was a Depression era program organized by the First National Bank to encourage farmers to diversify their cash crops to bring income year-round.

06/21/2026

Sweet Summer Time: From the Customs House Museum's Collection, this postcard from 1907 was mailed to Palmyra, Tennessee. Donor: Alice Dinsmore.
Happy Summer Solstice! Having fun on our local rivers is still a favorite summer activity in Clarksville.

06/21/2026

Happy Father's Day! From the Customs House Museum's collection, this photograph from circa 1910 shows Dorothy Winn and her father at Wrightsville Beach, N.C. Donor: Dorothy C. Winn. Written on photograph: "Oh! What a good time we've had!"

06/20/2026

History on the Rocks is now on our YouTube channel! If you've never been to a History on the Rocks, check out this one. The guests and the locations change with every new magazine. For the Summer issue, we were at the Taproom in the Blackhorse, and our guests were Dr. Ann Silverberg, Amelia Wallace, Brad Martin, and Beverly Parker. Next History on the Rocks will be in September, location TBD. Stay tuned!

Join us for an evening of local history, community stories, and eng...

06/20/2026

Thank you to VisitClarksville for being a Preview Party Sponsor of Flying High this year! The countdown is on for August 8, 2026, from 5 - 11 p.m. at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel. Tickets are on sale now! Click here: https://customshousemuseum.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/customshousemuseum/eventRegistration.jsp?event=82979&

06/19/2026

What a wonderful celebration at the Museum today during the Juneteenth Storytime & Craft!

Kimberly B. Wiggins, Montgomery County Trustee, read “A Flag for Juneteenth” by Kim Taylor, and Arthur “Nick” Nicholson, Executive Director & President of Mt. Olive Cemetery Historical Preservation Society, read “So Many Years: A Juneteenth Story” by Anne Wynter.

After Storytime in the auditorium, the families proceeded to Craft in The Aerie room, creating collage art inspired by abstract artist, Reggie Laurent, alongside several Clarksville Juneteenth volunteers.

We thank you, Kimberly, Nick, and Clarksville Juneeteenth, for making this such a memorable experience for the families in our community and for your continued dedication to empower and inspire. Kimberly Bond Wiggins Kimberly Wiggins, Montgomery County Trustee Miss Clarksville Juneteenth Pageant