Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park Interpretation Recommendation Report and Marketing Plan

Prepared for Tennessee State Parks by MTSU Center for Historic Preservation

January 2020

Kira Duke, Education Specialist Savannah Grandey, Fieldwork Coordinator Steph McDougal, Graduate Research Assistant Carroll Van West, Director

Table of Contents

Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………….3

Site Plan and Visitor Center Approach……………………………………………...4

Interpretation Recommendations…………………………………………………….8 Cordell Hull Museum.…………………………………………………………..8 Farmstead………………………………………………………………………..24

Interpertation Opportunities in the Activity Center………...…………………….37

Marketing Plan for Activity Center…………………………………………………..38

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Executive Summary

In January 2019, Cordell Hull Birthplace Park Manager Monique Hodge contacted Center for Historic Preservation (CHP) director and Tennessee state historian Dr. Carroll Van West requesting guidance regarding interpretation in the park’s museum and reconstructed farmstead. In March 2019, Monique hosted Dr. West and CHP fieldwork coordinator Savannah Grandey at the park to visit the current museum exhibit, activity center, and ongoing work on the reconstruction of the late 19th century farmstead. During the visit, CHP staff found that strides were being made in organizing the Hull Library and Archives; the park staff had started to expand the farmstead and create a physical environment more reflective of the late 19th century setting in which Hull lived and worked as a child; and, under Park Manager Hodge’s direction, the staff had re-energized public programming and events that help engage locals and visitors with the park’s natural, cultural, and historic resources, while helping put the park’s activity center to use.

After assessing the current interpretation and speaking with Park Manager Hodge regarding the park’s history programing, the CHP team envisioned creating a document that could guide park staff as they continue to improve the use of park resources to tell the story of Nobel Peace Prize-winning Tennessee native Cordell Hull and the Tennessee Upper Cumberland culture that shaped his upbringing. Subsequent visits throughout the fall of 2019 enabled the CHP team to better understand the challenges and opportunities at the park and how staff can efficiently and effectively improve the visitor experience.

While the park’s resources include the Bunkum Cave and Bunkum Cave Loop Trail, the following report focuses on providing recommendations for the development of a more cohesive exhibit in the visitor center/museum, a fuller interpretation of the expanding farmstead, and an updated use plan for the activity center. It should be noted that instead of a master interpretive plan meant to overhaul the park’s focus and programming, this interpretation recommendations in the report are structured to guide the park staff in making small to moderately-sized improvements that, taken together, will improve the visitor experience.

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Site Plan and Visitor Center Approach

The map below shows the relationship between the Visitor Center, Activity Center, the 19th century farmstead, and the order in which visitors approach each of these areas from the parking lot. Small changes aimed at better guiding visitors during their initial approach to the state park can have a cumulative effect and set the tone for a better visitor experience.

Observations about the Visitor Center’s current use, assets, and opportunities:

• There is a well-placed Civil War Trails marker kiosk along the sidewalk that leads to the Visitor Center door. Much of the content is about guerilla warfare in Pickett County, and there is also a paragraph about the naming of the state park after Cordell Hull.

• There is a small, exterior introduction panel to the right side of the Visitor Center’s front door. The content of the intro panel includes a brief site history, history of Cordell Hull and the Nobel Prize, list of historic resources, visitor amenities, and explains the location of the Bunkum Cave and the Bunkum Cave Trailhead. While some of this information may be useful to visitors, it is easily missed as it is small and positioned parallel to and set back about three feet from the visitor’s path into the Center. The lengthy paragraphs do not encourage one to stop and read before entering the building.

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• The Visitor Center lobby is a clean, welcoming space that is filled with natural light, there are seats for visitors to rest, restrooms are easily visible and accessible, and visitors are able to see through the lobby’s glass back wall into the rest of the park.

• The lobby contains little signage as to what is at the park and how visitors might best proceed through the buildings and grounds in a way that enhances the visitor experience and maximizes the impact of the park’s resources.

• There is a historic “Partners Desk” that Cordell Hull once used in the lobby that is currently serving as an information desk with a map of the park, sign-in sheet, and brochures. While this informational material should be available to visitors, there is nothing explaining how a visitor should proceed or what awaits them in the rest of the park buildings and spaces.

• The Cordell Hull Museum is located to the right of the Visitor Center entrance in the south wing of the building. While the double doors to the museum are propped open and the lighting in the museum room is bright, there is little near the entrance that may encourage a visitor to enter it before moving on to the resources outside.

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• Since the museum room largely focuses on the period of Hull’s life wherein he gained historical significance, it would be most beneficial for visitors to see it during their visit. Further, it would be preferable for visitors to enter the museum before moving on to the farmstead so they are provided the opportunity to learn about Hull’s significance and why his story matters before learning about the place in which he grew up.

• Additionally, the museum holds many original artifacts and primary documents from Hull’s political career, providing potential for a particularly compelling narrative about his path to the Nobel Peace Prize. If visitors are not encouraged to enter this space by signage or an attractive entrance, an opportunity to maximize the impact of the park’s resources is missed.

Recommendations:

• Consider placing a simple kiosk near the Civil War Trails marker, or similarly positioned elsewhere along the path that briefly explains the amenities at the park with a more detailed map of resources, including the cave and hiking trail across the road. While the official park brochure available outside the Visitor Center door does contain a map, and there are park maps available inside, they do not reflect the separate buildings of the park or what can be found in each. A new map more explanatory of the buildings and resources at the park can be used on new kiosks with a “You are here” star where appropriate and they can also be printed for visitor use during their visit.

• Proper design and simplicity of a new “intro” sign near or along the same path as the Civil War Trails marker would prevent the signs from competing for visitor attention and encourage visitors to stop and take in the concise information about Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park and what they can expect to find here. The sign could also encourage the visitor to continue to the Visitor Center and Cordell Hull Museum to begin their visit and learn about Hull’s “Path to the Nobel Peace Prize.”

• Take down the current exterior intro panel near the entrance to the Visitor Center.

6 • Place a more detailed map of the park resources (mentioned above) in a conspicuous place in the lobby. Since there are no state park personnel to greet visitors, providing a more detailed map in the lobby will help visitors guide themselves during their visit.

• Place a directional sign near the entrance of the Cordell Hull Museum that encourages park-goers to start their visit in the museum

• Create a more inviting display with interpretive panel that visitors see as they approach Cordell Hull Museum

7 Interpretation Recommendations for Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park

As Cordell Hull’s birthplace and with its preservation of many artifacts pertaining to Hull’s international diplomacy, the Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park is well-positioned to share a compelling story of Hull’s life from his late 19th century upbringing in the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee to his winning of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945. Emphasizing his upbringing in the Upper Cumberland of Tennessee and international diplomacy/winning of the Nobel Peace Prize as two definitive points in the narrative could also provide the opportunity for the park to serve as the region’s “place” where locals and tourists can learn about the seemingly disparate topics in the “place” where Hull’s story began.

Cordell Hull Museum

Currently, the Cordell Hull Museum within the Visitor Center focuses mostly on Hull’s political career and historic significance. By honing Hull’s political career into narrative themes such as the ones suggested below, adding appropriate interpretive panels, and rearranging some of the existing displays, the state park can start to better align its programming with the resources in the Cordell Hull Collection and effectively share the story of Cordell Hull’s significance and path to the Nobel Peace Prize.

Suggested Interpretation Objectives for the Cordell Hull Museum

• Provide a concise narrative history of the career and accomplishments of Cordell Hull from the time he left the Upper Cumberland to pursue a law degree at Cumberland University to his time as the longest serving Secretary of State in the nation’s history as part of the Franklin Roosevelt administration

• Maximize the impact of the Cordell Hull Collection by contextualizing the objects, photographs, and documents with improved interpretive panels and exhibit labels, enabling the museum to tell a more compelling story of arguably Tennessee’s most important and impactful politician and statesman and his path to the Nobel Peace Prize

• Orient the Cordell Hull Museum to better complement the park’s other resources (reconstructed birthplace cabin and farmstead) by telling the story of his life after he left the Upper Cumberland. The museum exhibits will draw connections between the childhood lessons that Hull learned from his family beginning at this farm, primarily his work ethic and dedication to education, to the statesman that he became.

• After visiting the museum, visitors will leave with a clear understanding of why Hull’s birthplace is preserved as a state park and that his story is significant to local, state, national, and international history

Visitors will understand Hull’s significance, rise to prominence, and impact on our lives today through learning about his:

• Impact on the Democratic Party in the early 1900s including rebuilding the party in the wake of devastating losses during the 1920 election cycle

• Legislative accomplishments including his role in the creation of the federal income tax to create a more equitable taxing system for the nation

8 • Long-term work in shaping trade and tariff policies including how this work was rooted in creating better economic conditions for the people of the Upper Cumberland that Hull represented in his years as a legislator

• Diplomatic accomplishments including creating the conditions that would promote long-term peace and prosperity internationally thus avoiding future world wars and the formation of the United Nations for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

Hull’s various fields of impact can be divided into concise career phases that will make creating exhibit panels simpler and will also make it easier for visitors to gain a general understanding of his life’s work. Hull’s career can be broken down into these distinct phases:

• Entry into Politics • Military Career • Judge Hull • Hull, the Legislator • Secretary Hull

These phases can be used to create distinct sections within the Cordell Hull Museum exhibit. Each section can then provide a summary of Hull’s time and accomplishments during that phase of his career and can be made stronger with the use of appropriate photographs, and documents from the Cordell Hull Collection.

Main Interpretive Messages:

In this section, the information is broken down by possible exhibit sections. The bullet points highlight key moments, accomplishments, or events from Hull’s long career. While all of these highlights need not be printed for visitors to read, they can be used to guide the content of future exhibit panels and exhibit labels.

A suggested title for the Cordell Hull Museum exhibit may be: “Path to the Nobel Prize.” This title captures Hull’s most historically significant accomplishment, while informing the audience that they can learn how Hull got to that pinnacle in his career.

(Source material for this section includes: The Memoirs of Cordell Hull: Volumes I and II and Cordell Hull: A Biography by Harold Hinton)

Introductory section: “Hull’s Path to the Nobel Peace Prize”

• Hull served the American people during a period of profound change in daily life as the American people transitioned from the horse and buggy to the nuclear age. • Hull’s view on democracy were shaped by debates he heard from a young age that taught him that the work of democracy must be carried out by fallible human beings and thus only as strong as its weakest human link. These debates were had by elders in the community many of whom were Civil War veterans. • Hull’s political career began in 1890 when he was elected as the chairman of the Democratic County Executive Committee at age 19 and culminated in his winning of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945.

9 “Entry into Politics”

• In 1891, Hull began his formal law education at Cumberland Law School, known to be a highly-regarded law school in the country. • In 1892 while practicing law in Celina, Hull made the decision to run for the State Legislature against incumbent L.H. Carlock. He won by persuading the Democratic executive committee in the district to move to a primary system that allowed for a district-wide vote as opposed to a convention where the Democratic candidate would be selected by a small number of delegates. He went on to serve two terms in the State Legislature. • During his second term, he was tasked with investigating how the poll tax law was enforced in relation to the contested governor’s race of 1894. He left office in 1896, choosing to return to his law practice.

“Spanish American War”

• At the onset of the Spanish American War in 1896, Hull raised a company of volunteers from Clay county and the surrounding area to join the war efforts. Hull was named Captain of his regiment. Company H of the Fourth Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Infantry consisted of one hundred and four members. • The regiment was called up in 1898 to go to Cuba to assist in restoring the local government after the war ended. His company spent five months there before being mustered out. This would be his first experience with Latin America and helped him to understand the larger challenges in the region.

“Judge Hull”

• In 1901, Hull moved to Gainesboro to practice law with John J. Gore • In 1903, Judge W.T. Smith asked Hull to take over as the presiding judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit upon Smith’s resignation. The circuit covered ten counties. Upon his appointment by the governor, Hull at the age of thirty-one became one of the youngest judges in the history of the state. • As judge, Hull was tasked with traveling to all ten counties where he had to hold a one to two-week term of court every four months. Hull traveled by horse and buggy on his circuit across the rugged terrain of the Upper Cumberland. • Hull was elected unanimously to continue as judge in 1904. • Hull was well-respected as a judge and often called “Judge” by people from the area for the rest of his life.

“Hull, the Legislator” or “Hull, the Congressman”

• In 1906, Hull decided to run for the U.S. Fourth Congressional District. This seat had previously been held by his friend and mentor Benton McMillan who had retired seven years previously. Hull won the primary election by fifteen votes and won the general election in November. • Within three weeks of his first session of Congress in 1907, Hull introduced a comprehensive income tax bill. Hull saw the income tax as a way to more equitably address the lope-sided taxation policies of the time, where he saw the wealthy not paying their fair share. Much of the nation’s tax revenue came from custom duties on imports and excise taxes which meant that wealthy and poor alike paid the same amount in taxes. The bill went nowhere. He introduced it again at the beginning of the next Congress. It was during this Congress that a bill passed that put forward a constitutional amendment to institute an income tax. This amendment was ratified four years later. By 1913, an income tax system was established in the country.

10 • The income tax bill was tied directly to legislation also dealing with high tariff rates. Hull saw these two issues as directly connected. Both the income tax and tariffs bills were part of a wave of progressive legislation that sought to address economic and fiscal issues including the creation of the Federal Reserve and Federal Trade Commission along with anti-trust and labor issues. • Hull turned his attention to international trade policy during the midst of WWI. He saw barriers to trade as motivating factors for conflict between nations. By creating an international system that advocated for free trade amongst nation, economic jealousies would be reduced thus promoting long-term peace. • Hull married Frances Witz of Staunton, Virginia, on November 24, 1917. • In 1919, Hull begins a friendship with World War I hero Sgt. Alvin C. York, who later was instrumental in saving Hull’s birthplace • Hull lost his seat in Congress in 1920 as the nation moved to an isolationist stance after WWI. • Hull was elected to serve as the national chairman of the Democratic National Committee in November 1921. In the wake of a wave election that had pushed many Democrats out of office, Hull took on this role at a contentious time for the party. They had lost the White House and were the minority party in both chambers of Congress. The party’s treasury was also bankrupt. Under his leadership, the Party’s financial problems were solved and once again on a strong footing. • Hull was reelected to Congress in 1922. As part of his campaign both for his own seat and in his role as chairman for the party, he advocated for Democratic women to vote. • Despite being in poor health at the time, Hull decided to run for the Senate in 1930. He felt strongly that he could be a voice to push the nation away from isolationist policies including high tariffs.

“Secretary of State”

• President Franklin Roosevelt offered Hull the cabinet position of Secretary of State after his election in 1932 • Hull saw that he could have a larger impact on the policies that matter to him, namely international trade and tariff issues, from the helm of the State Department • Mrs. Hull handled most of the social obligations of Hull’s new position. He viewed her as a partner who provided valuable advice and could be a confidant. This allowed him to dedicate himself to the study of issues and to keep up his preferred workstyle. • Hull sought to keep domestic politics outside of the work of the State Department. He felt that foreign policy should not be impeded or influenced by partisan politics. This was especially true for trade policy and he worked to extend this to domestic issues that dovetailed with foreign affairs. Hull made it a point to maintain a good relationship with members of Congress from both parties.

“Good Neighbor Policy and Latin America”

• At the Seventh International Conference of American States in late 1933, Hull pushed forward the Good Neighbor Policy. He stated “No state has the right to intervene in the internal or external affairs of another”. Hull’s work at the conference was the follow through on promises made in FDR’s first inaugural address and connected back to President Woodrow Wilson’s thinking on foreign policy in the Americas. • This policy was credited with helping keep Nazi influence out of the Americas during WWII. His work building strong diplomatic and economic relationships with Pan-American nations helped to greatly improve relations and was a turning point for the region.

11 • This was Hull’s first big accomplishment in his new role and helped him to build confidence that he could have a positive influence in the work of the FDR administration. This was especially important after the disastrous experience he had had at the London Economic Conference earlier in the year that had been a complete failure and where he had been undermined by FDR and his other emissaries.

“Trade Policy”

• Hull emphasized reciprocal trade agreements as a vehicle for long-term peace. He saw barriers to trade and economic jealousies as a key driver in war, especially after WWI. • He persuaded Congress to authorize reciprocal trade agreements beginning in 1934. This opened the door for a number of trade agreements to be signed by FDR. The law allowed the President to negotiate agreements that lowered tariffs by up to 50%, in return for benefits to American exporters. Most importantly, the law was written to allow for the President to negotiate and sign these agreements without congressional approval. • As part of this new approach to trade, he advocated for a “most-favored-nation” clause which guaranteed equal treatment to all nations that traded with the U.S. For example, any reduction in tariffs rates on one product from a particular country would apply to the same product imported from a different nation. • Both of these trading principles helped to increase exports of U.S. products to foreign markets. • Hull’s ideas on trade policy and foreign trade agreements laid the foundation for U.S. trade policy for the remainder of the century

“Japan”

• Hull worked to find a diplomatic solution to rising tensions with Japan as he believed U.S. war with Japan would aid Hitler. Embargoes were placed on items such as aviation fuel to dissuade Japanese aggression toward the broader southeast Asian region. He believed that moderate elements within the Japanese government could steer the country away from war, and worked toward those ends. Hull’s commitment to finding a diplomatic solution with the Japanese was criticized as appeasement. • Hull spent a great deal of time negotiating with emissaries from Japan including up to the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“SS St. Louis and Jewish Refugees”

• In the late 1930s, a growing number of Jewish refugees sought ways to escape growing persecution by the Nazi regime. Strict U.S. immigration laws passed in 1924 severally limited the number of German Jews who could enter the country annually. Along with many other Southern Democrats, Hull supported these strict immigration limits in order to limit competition in the depressed labor market that was still struggling to recover from the depression. Hull opposed multiple legislative efforts to increase immigration quotas meant to address the growing refugee problem, citing that they would open a Pandora’s Box on immigration requests. Hull and other Southern Democrats threatened to withhold support for FDR’s upcoming reelection bid if he supported such legislation.

• In 1939, Hull advised President Roosevelt to reject requests to enter the U.S. from the SS St Louis which carried over 900 German Jewish refugees. Hull and his State Department argued that allowing the passengers entry into the U.S. would circumvent immigration protocols and be unfair to others who had sought to follow U.S. guidelines to acquire their visas. The SS St. Louis was forced to return to Europe

12 where many were able to unboard at other ports. However, as many as 254 of the passengers perished in the Holocaust in the years that followed.

“Father of the United Nations”

• Just months after Hitler invaded Poland, Hull began speaking out on the need to begin planning for an international organization that would promote peace and security thus to avoid future world wars. • Hull believed that there was a small window of time once the fighting was over that an international organization could be founded and then move to advance peace. He believed that if all the pieces were not in place to immediately launch the United Nations that the chaos of the post-war period would make it impossible to get all nations on board. To this effect, he and his State Department worked diligently to lay the foundation needed to launch the United Nations immediately after the war. • At the Moscow Conference in October 1943, Hull was able to win support for the Declaration of the Four Nations, signed by the U.S., Great Britain, U.S.S.R., and China. This declaration laid out a power framework to manage the post-war world. The desire was to create a framework that would work to preserve peace and establish international security. • Hull and his team set out to plan for the Dumbarton Oaks Conference where the blueprint for the United Nations would begin to be drafted. Hull delivered the opening address at the conference in August 1944. The conference produced a final draft of proposals for a United Nations charter. This draft served as the foundation for the final United Nations Charter signed on June 26, 1945 in San Francisco.

“The Nobel Peace Prize”

• Hull served longer as secretary of state than anyone in the nation’s history. • By mid-October 1944, he was admitted to the hospital. On November 23rd, he officially resigned from his office as his health would no longer allow for him to continue. • Immediately following his resignation, Hull’s work was recognized by a multitude of organizations and governments at different levels with a variety of awards and tributes. • Hull was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945. The Nobel Committee had been considering him as early as 1934 for his work on using trade agreements to obtain peace and his work improving relations in the Americas with the Good Neighbor Policy.

Recommendations for How These Messages Can Be Conveyed

In this section are options for how the objectives and messages above can be conveyed with changes to the current Cordell Hull Museum room. The first section will contain suggestions that can be done mostly in-house with minimal additional funding and staff time. The second section contains suggestions that will need a larger commitment of resources and funding to be implemented.

Staff Time Only and Least-Expense/Most Impact Options

We suggest that interpretive exhibit panels be a priority addition to the Cordell Hull Museum. Adding new panels would maximize the impact of items from the Cordell Hull Collection that are already on display, thus improving the visitor experience as well as the park’s use of its extant resources. Current panels can be used to make minor changes to the overall interpretative message, but limit the degree that changes can be implemented. New panels

13 should be added at the beginning of each section of the museum (described below) and clearly provide a concise interpretation for that defined period in Hull’s life. These new panels would include the section title, interpretative text, and primary source images. They should follow the same general aesthetic and design to create a cohesive look throughout the museum. Suggestions about what parts of the “Path to the Nobel Prize” narrative should coincide with new panels are found in the bullet points below, along with other suggestions aimed at improving the overall impact of the Museum.

• Currently, visitors encounter the Nobel Peace Prize as they enter the Cordell Hull Museum. Consider moving the case with the Nobel Peace Prize from the entrance and towards the end of the exhibit, so that visitors see it last. This arrangement would better align with the “Path to the Nobel Peace Prize” theme, as the Nobel Prize would be the last item they see after learning about Hull’s career that led up to it.

• To encourage visitors to step into the museum and provide an overview of Hull’s legacy, an introductory panel, titled “Path to the Nobel Peace Prize” could be incorporated into the entrance of the museum.

• Along with an introductory panel, a timeline similar to the one on the exterior of the park offices could be incorporated into this space. This would help orient visitors to the larger narrative of Hull’s career and provide them with a chronological framework as they view subsequent exhibits. A timeline could also be spread out along the museum walls, with each event aligning with the appropriate exhibit panels and items.

• The rocking chair to the left of the entrance to the museum should be moved to the reconstructed birthplace cabin, as it is allegedly the chair Cordell Hull was rocked in as a small child

• As visitors move to the right, or counterclockwise to continue into the exhibit, they next see a Jackson press with various vases and glassware inside. Little is known about the Jackson press and the objects therein.

14 These objects inside the press should be removed because there is little interpretation to help the visitor understand what they are or why they are there.

• Park staff indicated that little is known about this particular piece. If the park plans to keep the piece in the museum room, it should be kept in its current place because the walls around it create a “nook” that helps protect it from people bumping into it as easily.

• If kept in place, a small exhibit label could be added to the wall near the Jackson Press, explaining the current lack of information on the specific piece while including information on the significance of Jackson press pieces in general: The Jackson press is a type of 19th c. chest form closely associated with Tennessee cabinetmakers. This form of furniture became associated with Andrew Jackson after his unsuccessful presidential bid in 1824, though the reason for the naming is currently unknown. The pieces were most often used in dining rooms and kitchens to store tableware, table linens, or food. (Source: “First Rate and Fashionable”: Handmade Nineteenth Century Furniture at the Tennessee State Museum by Michael W. Bell. Printed in the Tennessee Historical Quarterly in Spring 2003)

• Park staff might also consider moving the piece out of the room entirely and into the archive room where it will be better preserved due to less light exposure and unattended visitors.

15 • The next exhibit case encountered contains historic pictures of the birthplace cabin, items found during the state’s archaeological investigation of the site, and Cordell Hull’s button collection. Though the items in the exhibit case do have small, explanatory labels, and there is an exhibit panel hanging above the case (“Tough Times in the Upper Cumberland”), the mixture of objects and lack of context may be confusing to the visitor. If park administration chooses the theme of Hull’s “Path to the Nobel Peace Prize” for the Cordell Hull Museum, the exhibit panel and items in the case should be removed as they do not pertain to the period of his life when he gained historical significance.

• One or two of the historic pictures of the birthplace cabin that are in the case could be scanned and used on a new exterior exhibit panel near the reconstructed cabin. The archaeological items could be displayed in the Visitor Center lobby or the Activity Center with appropriate labels and/or exhibit panel explaining the archaeology work as part of the process of the state’s acquisition of the site. A smaller exhibit case could be used to display the archaeology items elsewhere, and the larger case pictured above could be used to house relevant items in the museum room.

• Hull’s button collection (currently in the case) could be used later in the “Path to the Nobel Peace Prize” exhibit when the topic turns to Japan, considering one of the buttons has “To Hell with Japan” printed on it.

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• Currently, there is no information about Hull’s time serving in the Tennessee State Legislature before his service in the Spanish American War. Moving the “Tough Times” exhibit panel and reworking the space in the exhibit case allows more space for telling the story of Hull’s early political career. The visitor can be confronted with the beginning of Hull’s political career (“Entry into Politics”) earlier in their path through the museum, providing more space for a more in-depth interpretation of his entire career throughout the rest of the room. Any pictures from this era, such as the image of Cumberland University and the photograph of Hull as a young man can be moved to this section.

• The recommendation above would keep with the chronological theme of the proposed exhibit, and allow the section on Hull’s service in the Spanish American War with its existing interpretive panel and items in the exhibit case to remain in place

• The large photo of Hull that is currently located near the current Spanish American War section should be moved. This portrait is an asset, one with the ability to attract visitor attention, but there is no date, context given, and it appears to be from later in his life. To keep the interpretation and objects in an approximate chronological sequence, consider moving the portrait to later in the exhibits: perhaps near the Nobel Peace Prize after it is moved to the end of the exhibit, or close to the entrance of the museum near the new “Path to the Nobel Peace Prize” panel.

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• As the visitor continues counterclockwise through the room, information about Hull’s time serving as a circuit judge could be incorporated into an exhibit panel detailing what life as a circuit judge was like. A map highlighting his district would be helpful to give a geographic context of his jurisdiction and travel responsibilities. That Hull rode this Upper Cumberland circuit by horse and buggy will encourage visitors to consider the impact of the region’s terrain and traditional modes of transport, while also serving to remind them of the metaphorical bridge Hull’s career was: from horse and buggy to the nuclear age.

• Again, to keep the exhibit chronological, Hull’s next career phase as a U.S. Representative and Senator should follow. There are already original documents displayed pertaining to Hull’s bids for and career as a U.S. Congressman found under the heading “Lawyer, Representative, and Senator.” Consider removing this heading and providing more information and context about this pivotal time in his career (as. U.S. Congressman), using an adjacent interpretive panel potentially titled “Hull, the Congressman.” This would maximize the impact of the original documents already displayed. This section of the museum exhibit should also explain Hull’s belief in and role in passing the federal income tax, since it is one of his lasting legacies still impacting our lives today.

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• There is currently a “Period Stories in News Caricatures” board with political cartoons. There are some labels naming the cartoons but more consistency in labeling and contextualization is suggested as the connection between Hull’s career and the ideas conveyed in the cartoons is not apparent.

• Since political cartoons are primary sources often used in middle school, high school, and college history classes, adding a small label or interpretive panel briefly explaining the use of political cartoons and how the ones displayed relate to Hull’s political interests and activities may help students connect school lessons to this museum experience. Similarly, enhancing the museum’s use of such a visual medium will help engage all visitors and become another way the state park can better align its programming with its existing assets.

• This section that covers Hull’s career phase as a Congressman should also incorporate the existing interpretation, exhibit labels, photos and other items already displayed that convey Hull’s relationship with World War I veteran Sgt. Alvin C. York

• The exhibit cases in the center of the museum do a good job of highlighting key objects. The use of the suggested interpretive panels near objects from the appropriate phase in his career will not only improve the visitor experience and encourage better understanding of Hull’s significance, it will also make better use of the items in the Cordell Hull Collection.

• The park staff might consider reorienting the staged office space in the center of the museum room to maximize the impact on the visitor experience as there is currently little information telling the visitor what they are looking at, why it is important, and how it contributes to Hull’s story.

§ Option one includes eliminating the staged office and instead using the space for exhibit panels or other interpretive devices. Since Hull’s time as Secretary of State is the era in which he rose to political prominence – the integral phase on his “Path to the Nobel Peace

19 Prize” – this space could be used to begin introducing the audience to that phase in his career: starting with his appointment by President Roosevelt, through the Good Neighbor Policy, Trade Policy, USS St. Louis controversy, and dealings with Japan. This option would require new interpretive panels, possibly one for each of the ideas previously listed, and any related items moved to the cases within and nearer to the former office space. The remainder of the museum room (the entire south wall and pathway) could then be devoted to what is perceived as Hull’s crowning achievement and reason for winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the formation of the United Nations.

§ Option two leaves the space as a staged office to convey Hull’s work ethic and the way that he approached his career. His marriage to Frances Witz and her role in managing the social aspect of Hull’s career allowed him more time to devote to other work demanded by his various roles, especially as Secretary of State. Guided by this idea, this space could be used to introduce Hull as Secretary of State and explore how his private life and professional coalesced as he assumed this role. This option would also require the addition of interpretive panel(s) and moving relevant artifacts within and near the staged office space.

• If the staged office space remains, object labels would allow visitors to get a better sense of what original items are included

• The remainder of the museum explores Hull’s years as Secretary of State with related objects nicely organized in a way that highlights many of the key moments from those years. The section currently begins with the exhibit title “Roosevelt and World War II Allies.” Should park administration keep the staged office where it is suggested they introduce Hull as Secretary of State, the remainder of the museum (mainly along the south wall and nearby cases) can be used to inform the audience to Hull’s major work in that role including the Good Neighbor Policy, Trade Policy, his dealings with Japan, work as Father of the United

20 Nations, and finally his winning of the Nobel Peace Prize. Each of the topics listed could be used as headings/topics of new exhibit panels that would properly contextualize the objects already on display.

• Should park administration choose to eliminate the staged office and instead use the space in the middle of the room to cover some of Hull’s major initiatives and controversy as Secretary of State (Good Neighbor, Trade Policy, USS St. Louis, Japan), then the south wall and cases along it can be used to delve deeper into Hull’s work laying the foundation of the United Nations, his various “Honors and Recognitions” (which is already a section), and his winning of the Nobel Peace Prize at the end of the exhibit.

• There are items hanging on the wall and in exhibit cases along the southern portion of the museum room that need labels to help visitors understand how the items included tell the story of Hull’s years at the State Department. The biggest enhancement would be to add labels for all items or to have labels for groups of items that provides some interpretation beyond basic details of what they are.

• Currently, the final exhibit section the visitor encounters is titled “Honors and Recognitions” where various documents, including President Roosevelt’s response to Hull’s resignation, is displayed. Keeping with the idea of “Honors and Recognitions,” Hull’s replica Nobel Peace Prize should be displayed with an adjacent interpretive panel at the end of the exhibit. Labeling this final exhibit panel “Nobel Peace Prize” or something similar will help illustrate Hull’s most significant achievement, and keep with the “Path to the Nobel Peace Prize” theme. Mentioning other Nobel Peace Prize winners such as Al Gore, Jr., Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mother Teresa may help visitors understand the significance of the prize in a larger context.

• As a general suggestion, each artifact or group of artifacts in the museum should have an updated object label. New labels would allow for a consistent look and format. These labels should identify objects and provide brief interpretation to help visitors understand how these artifacts contribute to the interpretation offered in the exhibit panels. As improvements are being made to labels, the mounting for many items

21 might be improved to increase the overall professional look of the exhibits. High quality copies of some photographs, newspaper articles, and other text would allow for better presentation and help with the long- term preservation of the original.

More Resources and External Support

Adding technology can update the look of an exhibit, allow visitors to access documents and objects not on display, and provide more content than what can be effectively conveyed by an exhibit panel. However, there are several factors to consider before adding technology to an exhibit, including:

• Initial setup cost • Maintenance cost. Will you pay a third party to maintain the hardware and software? Or will you do that in- house? If you choose to do it in-house, remember the cost of staff time and any software subscriptions required! • What parts of the narrative would be most enhanced from the addition of digital technology? • What type(s) of digital experiences do you wish to provide? For example, do you wish to display an interactive map to show the places Hull traveled and worked over his career? Do you wish to provide a map of the nations that make up the United Nations? Do you wish to provide more information about particular artifacts, photographs, or documents? Do you wish to provide visitors a way to play excerpts from speeches Hull gave? • Deciding what type of digital experience you wish to provide will help in determining what hardware and what software, or digital interface, will best serve your purposes. • There are many devices that can be used as a digital interface that visitors can navigate, including touchscreen televisions and iPads or tablets • There are also options as to what types of software you can use to provide a digital experience. Many companies offer services to design and maintain a digital visitor experience completely out-of-house. For example, if you’d like to add or change something, or if something breaks, you would contact the company. • There are also websites and software that allow you to design and maintain the digital aspect of your exhibit in-house, so you can maintain more control over the timing and execution of additions, changes, or repairs. An example of such a company is Intuiface (intuiface.com). This particular company offers free and paid services and does not require prior coding knowledge but would require a staff member to design and maintain the visitor interface. One benefit of using such a company, is that the software program can run on tablets or iPads with internet access and do not require a large touch screen television. • Keep in mind that using an iPad or tablet as a visitor interface may be more sustainable than using larger equipment such as a specially designed touchscreen television or kiosk. iPads and tablets can often run a variety of programs (such as those offered by companies like Intuiface), thus providing more flexibility; updating an iPad or tablet is much like updating a smartphone, and would better enable the hardware to keep pace with any changes to software; if the tablet needs repair, staff can simply remove it instead of having a large, nonfunctioning TV or digital kiosk stuck in the middle of the exhibit

22 Recommendations of How to Use the Technology Enhancements with the Exhibits

• To create a more dynamic opening to the museum, the introductory case could be complemented with an introductory video that provides an overview of Hull’s life using archival footage as well as “talking heads” to give guests context to begin their visit to the museum. Considering there is no seating, an introductory video should not exceed five minutes. The content in the video could also serve as a bridge to connect the content shared in the museum with the cabin and farmstead. A monitor could be attached to the wall at the entrance of the museum, possibly covering the window-like opening. The video could be set up to play on a loop so that the museum continues to operate with minimal staffing. An introductory video need not replace an introductory panel but could be used to complement it. This would allow visitors who might choose not to watch the video in its entirety to still have access to the key details needed as they begin their tour.

• Interactive exhibits using touch-screen technology could also be added as additional technology to enhance the visitor experience and allow for more content to be layered in for those interested in digging a bit deeper into Hull’s career as a public servant. These interactive exhibits could be set up in the two back corners of the museum which would roughly correspond to the beginning points for the different exhibit sections: “Hull the Legislator” and “Secretary of State Hull.” These would be ideal places for interactives as these are the two most content-rich sections within the museum. Interactive exhibits would allow for additional information to be shared about Hull’s work during these periods and incorporate text from proposed legislation, speeches, and newspaper coverage. Additionally, Hull’s own thoughts about key events from these periods could be pulled from his extensive memoirs. The content shared through interactive exhibits would serve to complement the more traditional exhibit panels and objects on display throughout the museum. For example, an interactive setup could include a “Story Map” that traces Hull’s international travel and diplomacy with content about the particular places he went and what he did there.

• As visitors are nearing the end of their walk through the exhibits, an audio station could be set up to hear excerpts from some of Hull’s key speeches made in the process of planning and building support for the United Nations. Having the ability to incorporate Hull’s voice into the exhibits will add a rich layer to the exhibits and enhance the visitor experience. Currently, visitors can see a vinyl album that is Hull’s speech to Congress after the Third Moscow Conference. This would be ideal for inclusion in an audio station. The audio station could be set up either so that visitors pushed a button to hear segments play aloud or with headphones so that only a single visitor at a time could hear the audio. Given the overall size of the museum, consideration would need to be given to audio bleed overs from the introductory film and the audio station. This could be handled either through the use of headphones at the audio station or setting up the system so that the audio station and introductory film could not play simultaneously.

23 Birthplace Cabin and 19th c. Farmstead

After park-goers have visited the Cordell Hull Museum and had the opportunity to learn about Hull’s significance, they move outside and encounter the Activity Center building, Birthplace Cabin and Farmstead. As the part of the park that represents Cordell Hull’s late 19th century upbringing in the Upper Cumberland, the cabin and farm area provide the opportunity for visitors to learn not only about Hull’s early life but also the region’s architecture, and culture. Since many of the items in the cabin and accompanying kitchen are not original to the Hull family but were collected and donated by locals and Hull only lived on this land for the first four years of his life, placing the Hull family’s early farm within the larger context of the local region is appropriate and will help contribute to a more cohesive narrative.

Currently, the resources in the farm area include the Birthplace Cabin and kitchen, a stone well, a newly constructed smokehouse, and a fenced garden plot. It should be noted that the park staff is taking steps to expand the farmstead by building representations of other farm buildings. Future plans currently include a blacksmith shop and chicken coop. The staff also replaced a chain link fence on the eastern border of the farm area with a split rail fence in late 2019. Interpretive objectives and improved methods to convey main interpretive messages would improve the park’s resources in this area, while coinciding with improvements already underway.

24 Suggested Interpretation Objectives for the Birthplace Cabin and Farmstead

• The cabin and farmstead will complement the “Path to the Nobel Peace Prize” exhibit in the Cordell Hull Museum by encouraging visitors to think about the scope of Hull’s life: from being born in a log cabin in an area still reeling from the effects of the Civil War, to becoming one of the world’s most important diplomats at the beginning of the nuclear age

• Make better use of extant resources in the cabin and farm area with improved signage that provides information and historical context to the visitor

• Clarify what the visitors are looking at (i.e., that the log buildings are not original but have been reconstructed into what visitors see today. Previous master interpretive plans for the park have mentioned “cabin portrayal issues.”)

• Highlight key characteristics of the Upper Cumberland culture within which Cordell Hull grew up. What makes the Upper Cumberland unique?

Main Interpretive Themes for the Birthplace Cabin and Farmstead

The setting and artifacts of the Birthplace Cabin and Farmstead differ greatly from that found in the Cordell Hull Museum’s more traditional indoor museum setup and display style. These are not disparate components of the park but provide the opportunity to convey the narrative of Hull’s life in ways that best align with the park’s extant resources. Identifying interpretive themes will help the park use its existing resources more effectively, while also helping to guide incremental improvements that can have a cumulative effect on improving the visitor experience.

While the Cordell Hull Museum space and proposed “Path to the Nobel Peace Prize” exhibit is more conducive to being organized chronologically, the interpretation in the cabins and farm area does not need to follow a particular

25 timeline but can instead be guided by major interpretive themes that often overlap with each other. The following bullet points are suggested interpretive themes with context. It should be noted that some of the information below is already presented to visitors on an existing but deteriorated interpretive sign near the back of the farm area. While all of the information that accompanies each theme need not be printed for visitors, park staff should feel free to use what is written below for interpretive panels, handheld guides, or other museum products as they see fit.

(Source material for this section includes: Upper Cumberland Historic Architecture by W. Calvin Dickinson, Michael E. Birdwell, and Homer Kemp; Rural Life and Culture in the Upper Cumberland edited by Michael E. Birdwell and W. Calvin Dickinson;

• “The Upper Cumberland: A Distinct Geographical Region” – The Upper Cumberland region encompasses several counties in south central Kentucky and central and north central Tennessee. The region shares a namesake with the Cumberland Gap to the east, the Cumberland Mountains and Plateau, and the Cumberland River to the west, all named after the British Duke of Cumberland. Land within the region varies, but is mostly characterized by foothills and ridges with shallow soil.

According to historians, most early settlers largely bypassed this region to reach the more favorable terrain of the Nashville Basin further west. As a result, those who did settle the region, and their descendants, became known as tough and independent people who came to recognize themselves as distinctively “Upper Cumberland.” There is documentation that Cordell Hull’s ancestors lived in the region as early as 1813.

Describing the specific region of the Upper Cumberland in which he was born, Hull states “The section where I was born and spent my earliest years was exactly on the border line between North and South during the Civil War. It was a backwoods country seventy-five miles from a railroad, and was called the ‘Mountain Section.’ The roads were almost impassable during rainy spells…We had to cross mountains, hills, rivers, and creeks on any trip of many miles” (p.6, The Memoirs of Cordell Hull, vol.I).

Though the rivers provided some level of transportation and connection with other places and regions, the natural environment and the difficulties it presented to its inhabitants played a large role in the relative isolation and culture of the region. Another regional characteristic that had a direct impact on lifeways of the Upper Cumberland were caves, such as the Bunkum Cave. Dry caves and spring caves had long been used by Native Americans for shelter, ceremony, and water sources. Though EuroAmericans of the Upper Cumberland relied less on the caves for shelter, these important natural features provided cold storage, places for social gatherings, inconspicuous spaces to make liquor, and water if there was a cave spring.

• “Log Architecture: Hull’s Birthplace Cabin” – It has been noted in park documents and previous studies of the building that much of the integrity and historic material of the birthplace cabin was lost during the 1957 dissembling and reconstruction of the cabin. While the previous treatment to the cabin was not ideal, the building is still a valuable resource to convey types of homes some of the region’s people lived in the 19th century.

The traditional woodworking tools hanging on the north exterior wall of the cabin, along with broad axe and adze marks on the wall logs, half-dovetail notching (the most popular style of notching in the Upper Cumberland), and stone piers are examples of artifacts and features that can be highlighted to help illustrate a 19th century log cabin in the Upper Cumberland. The notching of wall logs at the corner of the

26 building eliminated the need for nails. The sloping shape of the half dovetail notching secured the log walls, pulling them inward and toward each other to create a sturdy building. As the wood repeatedly expanded and contracted due to fluctuating temperatures and humidity, the notched joints often became stronger.

The log cabin was also practical because it was easy to expand the floorplan to accommodate a growing family or taking in extended family as needed. Many cabins initially had a half story loft such as the one in the birthplace cabin. This area was often used for much needed sleeping space for the families with several children, such as the Hull family (Hull was 1 of 5 children). As seen with the birthplace cabin, a second structure could be added behind or next to the original log building and connected with a breezeway. Other times, a new log building may be completely attached to the original, or on the other side of the chimney.

The 1957 treatment is now part of the building’s story, and being transparent about the authenticity of the cabin gives visitors a glimpse into the nuances of historic preservation and the efforts to save the Cordell Hull birthplace.

• “Meeting Everyday Needs in the Upper Cumberland: Life and Labor in the Hull Family”

§ Farming - Throughout the 19th century, Upper Cumberland families relied on subsistence farming, hunting, fishing, and other activities such as extracting minerals from caves and making liquor to support their families. Farmers either owned their land, or rented it from someone. Hull’s father William rented the land he farmed when Hull was born in 1871. An agricultural census from 1870 indicates the Hull family had 2 horses, 2 mules, 2 milk cows, 2 working oxen, 15 sheep, and 20 hogs. Produce grown included sugar cane, corn, oats, Irish potatoes, and sweet potatoes. The Hull’s also had a kitchen garden near the cabin where they grew food such as tomatoes, beans, and onions, as well as an orchard.

A working farm in the 19th century required a complex of buildings with specific uses. In addition to the cabin and kitchen buildings, on this land stood a barn, corn crib, root cellar, outhouse, and a smokehouse. As park administration indicated it will continue to erect some of the farm buildings that were once on this land. Each building can help illustrate the type of built environment in which Hull grew up while also conveying the practicality found in the form and function of 19th century farm buildings.

§ Supplementing farm income – Though families in the region did sell homemade goods, wool, crops, and livestock for slaughter, the terrain of the land prevented large scale farming for market and much of what was produced was needed to feed and clothe the family that produced it. People found other ways to supplement farm income such as mining caves for minerals and making liquor, such as Hull’s father did in the Bunkum Cave.

Later in the 19th century, people continued subsistence farming on land they owned or rented but also began to look for ways to benefit from the increased demand for lumber and other products brought about by post- Civil War railroad building and industrial growth. While the positive and negative effects of such new economies is debated, the economic opportunity it provided made a clear impact on Upper Cumberland families. For example, Cordell Hull’s father went from renter to landowner when he purchased a farm of his own on credit (located about 4 miles away on the

27 Obey River) and became involved in the lumber industry when he began felling trees in the winter and selling them.

In his memoirs, Hull states that his father’s cutting and selling of logs is what enabled him to slowly pay for their new home and land. Though Hull never explicitly stated it, it was likely the extra cash earned from logging that enabled Hull’s father to hire a teacher to come to the Hull’s home and teach the brothers during the winter and early spring.

§ Women’s Work – Cordell Hull recalls the continuous labor of both of his parents but makes special mention of his mother’s chores. Elizabeth Riley Hull nursed the children, helped her husband with crops as needed, milked cows, cleaned the cabin and kitchen, spun thread, weaved cloth, sewed clothing, cooked, and canned vegetables. Such chores were necessary in all Upper Cumberland households. For example, Hull remembers that most of the people of that time wore homespun and, “Every family able to do so had a loom and a spinning wheel. When you rode past a farmhouse you could hear the whirring of loom and wheel” (p.5, The Memoirs of Cordell Hull, vol.I).

Hull notes that all of the children were expected to do their share of chores and 5 boys were certainly much help in running a farm and household. In the mid-1880s, after the Hull family moved to Clay County, Cordell’s father hired a woman to help Elizabeth with some of her work. Even so, Hull states that his mother “continued all these labors until she became too afflicted with inflammatory rheumatism…and at last, was confined to a wheel chair” (p.5, The Memoirs of Cordell Hull, vol. I).

In addition to the above responsibilities, Hull remembers his mother instilling in her children the value of education, requiring them to learn the alphabet early, and read Webster’s blue back speller as well as the Bible.

Recommendations for How These Themes Can be Conveyed

The following recommendations are aimed at improving the whole of the visitor experience in the cabin and farm area by assessing the visitor approach to resources and the current interpretation of those resources. The recommendations are designed to enable park staff to make small, practical changes that will have a positive cumulative effect on the visitor experience.

• The picture below shows the visitors’ view as they walk out of the Visitor Center. There is an opportunity to put an exterior interpretive panel along the path with some of the suggested content about the Upper Cumberland region. Having such a panel would orient the visitor geographically as it mentions other major geographical features of the surrounding region; introduce the idea of a distinctive Upper Cumberland region and culture; and convey the deep roots the Hull family had in this region.

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• Such an exterior panel could include a map of the Upper Cumberland region, images of the Hull family such as those that are currently on the “Tough Times in the Upper Cumberland” panel in the Visitor Center, and/or scanned images of the original photos in the accompanying exhibit case. The panel could also incorporate a quote from Hull’s memoirs: “My story began among the hills of Tennessee…” (p. 1729 of The Memoirs of Cordell Hull vol. II), or, “I was born October 2, 1971, in Overton County, Tennessee, on the ridge between the Wolf and Obey Rivers, among the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains” (p.3 of The Memoirs of Cordell Hull vol. I), or “The section where I was born and spent my earliest years was exactly on the border line between North and South during the Civil War. It was a backwoods country seventy-five miles from a railroad, and was called the ‘Mountain Section’” (p.6, The Memoirs of Cordell Hull, vol.I).

• As the visitor approaches the fork in the sidewalk near the Activity Center, there is no indication of which path should be followed. Consider placing a small directional sign near the fork, perhaps near the donation box and sign that encourages visitors to go right so they will encounter the birthplace cabin after passing the Activity Center. Though the interpretation in this area need not be chronological, it is suggested that visitors take the path to the right and encounter the birthplace cabin first.

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• Adding free-standing interpretive signage near the approach to the cabin and attached kitchen is one way to explain the buildings’ and land’s association to Cordell Hull (including the fact that his father rented this land when he was born, then was able to climb the “agricultural ladder” from renter to landowner when the Hull family bought a farm on the Obey River), any exterior features typical to 19th century log architecture in this region, such as the notching style and stone piers, as well as mentioning that the cabins are essentially reconstructions. Placing a historic photo of the birthplace cabin on the interpretive signage would also allow visitors to compare the building in the photo to the reconstructed one in front of them.

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• There is already a sign located in the periphery of the farm area near the back of the Activity Center building that includes information about the Hull family when they rented the farm; the livestock and crops grown; the cabin; and the outbuildings. The sign is informative but is poorly placed, in deteriorated condition, and should be removed. A few new signs in appropriate places within the cabin and farm area would help attract visitors to certain areas that may otherwise be overlooked; keep the visitor engaged with the history of the place as they move around; and, would provide more opportunity to add context to the history presented. (While such signs may be perceived as a visual “intrusion” on the recreated 19th century farm landscape, this aesthetic concern should be weighed against the potential value added to the visitor experience)

• Using Hull’s own words (found in his memoirs) to describe the house he was born in is also an option for inclusion on a new interpretive sign outside the cabin: “A small log cabin rented by my father was my birthplace. This, somewhat enlarged by a lean-to, fronted immediately on the dirt road. From the porch behind it planks led to another log cabin containing the kitchen dining room. There was no porch then on the front of the house. Whether there were glass windows, I do not remember; but at that time many of the neighboring cabins lacked them. They had holes in the walls for windows, and shutters to keep out bad weather” (p. 3 The Memoirs of Cordell Hull vol. I).

• The pathway leads visitors to enter the breezeway between the cabins, where they encounter several tools, some of them woodworking tools, displayed on the north exterior wall of the cabin. There is currently no interpretation near these tools. Even minimal interpretation could help the visitor connect these pieces of material culture with the types of labor they were associated with in the 19th century.

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• One way to provide this information pertaining to these tools would be to hang a small, laminated “guide” near the tools. The guide need not be long or complex but could have either a picture or silhouette of each tool present with the name and purpose of the tool near the image. An example of such a guide is found in an image below, though the tool guide could be smaller in size and neutral in color as not to clash with the surroundings.

32 • Currently, the interpretation in the log cabin is a push button audio feature narrating information about Cordell Hull being born in such a building as well as some of the uses of the objects on display. The audio is clear, concise, and serves to enliven the interior of the cabin while providing an important interpretive component to visitors who may be visually impaired.

• There are several items in the cabin that help convey what life was like for the Hulls and other Upper Cumberland families of similar economic status in the late 19th century such as the rope bed, quilting frame, spinning wheel, great wheel, wool cards, bellows, and firearm. A guide similar to the one suggested above for the tools would also add interpretive value to this section of the park: simple laminated 8 ½ x 11 paper with photos or silhouettes of the artifacts in the cabin, names of the artifacts, and use. If attached to a ring, the guide could hang from a wooden peg such as the one near the audio button.

33 • The dog-trots, or breezeways, that connected 19th century cabins were often used as more than covered walkways. Especially during hot and otherwise temperate weather, people used the area as a workspace where spinning, sewing, washing, and some food preparation could be done in the open air and in better lighting than the dark cabins. The space was also used for socializing with family and friends. During living history events, the staff may consider moving some of the demonstrations, such as spinning, to the porch. A small, removable interpretive sign (such as a framed 8 ½ x 11 paper) explaining the breezeway’s use as a work and socializing space could also be set atop the chest located in the breezeway outside the kitchen. The sign could be removed each day at close.

• The kitchen cabin is currently the strongest interpretive area of the park. Due to the regular use of the fireplace for various programming, the cabin often contains the lingering smell of a fire which adds a strong sensory element that visitors notice immediately. There is an audio loop available for visitors to play that describes the diet and meal style of the Hulls and families like them. The audio feature also names several artifacts that are present in the kitchen, including the one item that actually belonged to the Hull family (the yoke that hangs above the dining table).

• The kitchen space could also benefit from having an artifact guide similar to that suggested for the other cabin. This would supplement the existing audio. The guide need not include all of the items, only easily visible ones whose uses are not evident to a visitor such as the coffee grinder and candle mold. The guide could also incorporate some mealtime memories of Cordell Hull. He recalls that when his mother called the men in for a meal, she’d always remind them “…and bring your chairs” meaning the family did not have enough chairs for the few rooms in the house and had to recollect them from elsewhere for meals (p.10, The Memoirs of Cordell Hull, vol.I).

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• Some of the items in this space do not belong but serve a practical programming use, such as the picnic table in the middle of the room. Some of the artifacts do not belong as well, such as the yoke and hayfork. As the park administration erects more outbuildings, some of these artifacts can move into more appropriate spaces. Occasionally moving the broom maker to the breezeway for the day could also help illustrate the previously suggested interpretation of the breezeway as a workspace.

35 • From the porch of the kitchen, visitors can see the kitchen garden and newly constructed smokehouse. Other than the previously mentioned sign near the back of the Activity Center, there is no interpretation as to what the smokehouse and kitchen garden is, and thus there is nothing encouraging visitors to explore the farm area. As mentioned, park administration is aiming to continue erecting farm outbuildings to convey a more complete complex of 19th century farm buildings.

• A new interpretive sign could be placed in the vicinity between the kitchen cabin and the farm area that has much of the same interpretation on it as the extant sign near the back of the Activity Center: that the Hull family rented this land, what animals were kept here, what crops were grown. The sign could also include information about the Upper Cumberland region’s terrain limiting the majority of farmers to subsistence farming. This overview sign could then be supplemented by smaller, individual signs at each building such as the smokehouse. The signs could name the building and also explain its form and function as one piece of a working farm. As more buildings are erected, each can acquire its sign.

36 Interpretation Opportunities in the Activity Center

The activity center is a c.1970s log building located between the visitor center and cabins. While the building is used for administrative offices, park events, and for-rent space, park staff have used the blank walls and empty corners to display rotating exhibit panels and large artifacts such as furniture. While displaying temporary exhibits is a great way to keep programming fresh and welcome new audiences to the park, placing interpretive panels regarding the park’s history in this space would help engage those who use the space with the history of the park.

Placing a small, perhaps four panel, exhibit in the activity center provides the opportunity to share with visitors the story of the site’s preservation, including some details of the birthplace cabin’s reconstruction, the archaeology conducted onsite, and the federal and state government’s role, and finally, Tennessee State Park System’s acquisition and stewardship of the park. Aside from providing the preservation story of this specific park, such an exhibit would also convey to visitors the role of the Tennessee State Park System in preserving the state’s diverse historic, cultural, and natural history.

Potential themes for this park history exhibit include:

1. “A Grassroots Effort” - This first panel could begin with the locals who initially worked to preserve the birthplace. Local educator Pansy Hill provided the idea and infamous World War I veteran Alvin C. York the political connections to move the idea forward.

2. “Tennessee General Assembly Takes Action” – The General Assembly creates the Cordell Hull Birthplace and Memorial Association in 1953, enabling it to purchase the land and restore the cabin. The cabin was disassembled and reconstructed with sound wood of the original cabin. Rotted logs were reportedly replaced with sound logs from another nearby cabin. In 1972, the Cordell Hull Birthplace was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for being the “only site existing in Tennessee which is directly associated with Cordell Hull” and for the cabin being “typical of the type of cabin in which the mountain people of this region of Tennessee lived during the nineteenth century.”

3. “Archaeology at the Cordell Hull Birthplace” – In 1991, the United States Senate appropriated funds for the site. One of the requirements included an archaeological investigation that occurred in the mid-1990s. The objects from the archaeological investigation that are currently displayed in the Cordell Hull Museum could be displayed near this panel in a shadow box. A restoration to the birthplace cabin also occurred in the mid- 1900s.

4. “Creation of the Cordell Hull Birthplace State Park” – The Cordell Hull Museum and Visitors Center was completed in 1996 and Birthplace Historic Site was designated as a Tennessee State Park in 1997.

37 Marketing Plan for the Activity Center

This marketing plan for the Park’s activity room was prepared at the request of and with assistance from Park Manager Monique Johnson. Steph McDougal, a PhD student and graduate research assistant in the Public History program at Middle Tennessee State University, prepared this plan under the supervision of Dr. Carroll Van West, director of the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation.

For brevity, the Cordell Hull Birthplace State Historic Park will be referred to as “the Park” or “CHSP” throughout this plan.

Methodology

In order to develop this Marketing Plan, we completed the following tasks: 1. Define the current offer and potential future offers. During a phone interview, the Park Manager described the use of the activity room to date, the frequency of rentals, typical activities and events held at the Park, and revenue goals for the Park as a whole. 2. Define the target market area. During a site visit to the Park in August 2019, we captured preliminary visitor sign-in book data from July 28–August 3, 2019. This information was used to determine the typical points of origin for Park visitors. We have also provided a categorized list of specific prospects (potential customers) in the Appendices. 3. Identify the competition. Since little information was available online for local meeting-space options, we called the Pickett County Library in Byrdstown, the Pickett County Community Center, and the Pickett County School District to learn about meeting space available to local residents. Online research yielded information about meeting and event spaces in hotels, marinas, and other commercial venues, and local, state, and national parks, forests, and recreational areas within the target market area. Additional online research provided a list of wedding venues with a similar projected price point in the target market area. We used this information to identify gaps in the market that CHSP might fill. 4. Define the value proposition. A value proposition is the promise that the product or service will deliver. This becomes the central theme of all marketing activities. 5. Develop the marketing strategy. The market strategy based on all of the information gathered during this project includes pricing options, promotional activities and outlets, and goals and metrics against which the success of the marketing strategy can be measured.

The Offer

The activity room (activity center) at CHSP is available for rental year-round during regular park business hours.

The Park headquarters activity room is located in one of three buildings on site at CHSP. It is accessed by passing through the museum building via a concrete sidewalk that leads from the parking lot, which can accommodate approximately 45 passenger vehicles and includes two handicapped spaces. Once through the museum building, the visitor can use one of two gravel pedestrian paths to reach either the front (non-ADA) entrance of the Park headquarters building or the rear (ADA) entrance.

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Left: Satellite view of CHSP showing museum, park headquarters building, and log cabin (Google); right: the activity room at CHSP (Dr. Carroll Van West)

The building is a south-facing, side-gabled log structure with a projecting center gable that shelters a shallow front porch and houses two small offices for Park staff, one on either side of the center entry hall. The hall leads to an activity room, which includes a small kitchen along the north wall near the rear entrance. Interior walls are clad with stained wood paneling; documents, awards, and photographs are displayed on one wall. One hundred stackable upholstered chairs (without arms) and six-foot-long folding tables with white plastic tops can be arranged in a variety of configurations. The room is equipped with a wall-mounted flat-screen television, a permanently installed pull-down screen, and a portable projector; a ceiling-mounted projector is being installed. The kitchen is equipped with a refrigerator and range.

According to the Park website, the room will accommodate 30 people in a classroom setting, with the tables arranged in a U-shape; 75 people with tables removed and the chairs arranged in rows, theater-style; or 50 people with tables organized in a reception configuration. The Park Manager clarifies that a maximum of 45 people can most comfortably be accommodated in this space when tables are being used.

The activity room can be rented for a daily rate of $50 plus tax (total $54.88) by calling the Park office. Reservations cannot be made online, although tickets for some Park events can be purchased through the Tennessee State Parks “Program and Event Registration” website at reserve.tnstateParks.com. Park staff use Itinio reservation software to manually capture rental reservations; the Park requires a 50% deposit, but due to the low cost, renters typically pay the entire fee upfront.

Target Market

The Park is located near Byrdstown, Tennessee, in the Upper Cumberland region of middle Tennessee near the Kentucky-Tennessee border. Potential customers for renting the activity room include visitors to the Park, who most frequently come from the Upper Cumberland region; local residents of Byrdstown; and visitors to nearby Dale Hollow Lake.

Upper Cumberland Residents

Visitor sign-in sheets from the museum building for January through September 2019 show that frequent Park visitors are most likely to originate in the Upper Cumberland area and include residents of towns within an approximate 90-minute drive.

39

Counties in Tennessee and Kentucky within the target market for Cordell Hull State Park (created with mapchart.net, 2019)

Most of the counties within this area are predominantly rural and contain only one incorporated municipality, which is the county seat. These towns and their distances from CHSP are listed below. The total 2010 population within this group of counties was 258,217.

City County Driving Driving Time (min.) 2010 County Distance (mi.) Population Byrdstown, TN Pickett 14 20 5,077 Albany, KY Clinton 14 20 10,272 Livingston, TN Overton 20 24 22,083 Jamestown, TN Fentress 28 42 17,959 Burkesville, KY Cumberland 32 38 6,856 Monticello, KY Wayne 32 43 20,183 Cookeville, TN Putnam 40 49 72,321 Jamestown, KY Russell 44 57 17,565 Celina, TN Clay 45 45 7,861 Crossville, TN Cumberland 61 90 56,053 Wartburg, TN Morgan 62 86 21,987

Groups who are already coming to the Park might be interested in renting the activity room as a place to eat lunch, engage in an activity, or present/attend an educational program. In some cases, large groups will be transported in a motor coach. A standard full-sized motor coach in the United States can carry 54 passengers plus a driver and luggage, although typical charters (when a coach is rented by an individual or organization for its own use) carry fewer than the maximum load, with around 40 passengers per trip,1 which is a right-sized group for the Park’s activity room.

Almost all motor coach carriers (96.5%) offer charter service. According to U.S. Coachways, charter bus rental fees are typically based either on an hourly rate for the number of hours used (usually a minimum of five hours) or on

1 John Dunham and Associates, “Motorcoach Census: A Study of Size and Activity of the Motorcoach Industry in the United States and Canada in 2014,” American Bus Association, February 11, 2016, 9–11, 19; online at https://buses.org/assets/images/uploads/pdf/Motorcoach_Census_2014.pdf

40 mileage (more common for an all-day trip). Weekday trips are less expensive than weekends, with $100–150/hour common for full-sized motor coaches. (Fancier “executive” coaches or smaller buses may be more or less expensive.)2

Nearly half of all motor coach passengers in the United States and Canada were students (22%) or senior citizens (26.6%)3 and, along with business groups, those are the most likely prospects for the Park activity room as well. The Park could partner with charter bus companies in local areas to offer bus service, where the visiting group (not the Park) would be responsible for paying the full cost of the charter and filling the seats. The overall cost to the group would include the activity room rental fee. More information about chartering buses is available from the Tennessee Motorcoach Association here: https://tnmca.net/how-to-charter/. A current list of TMCA members in the target market area can be obtained by calling the Association at 423-288-8622.

K-12 Groups

Student groups are likely to visit the Park as part of a field trip. They could utilize the activity room as a place to meet with Park staff prior to or as part of an activity or program and to eat lunch. (A future picnic shelter could also be used for this purpose, either instead of or in addition to the activity room; for example, the indoor space could be used for a program and the outdoor space could be used for lunch, or vice versa.)

Prospective customers in this category would include public schools, charter schools, private schools, church schools, and home-school parent support groups or co-operatives (“co-ops”).

Most counties are small enough to have a single public school district.

School District State # Students Website

Clay County Schools TN 1,021 http://www.clayedu.com/ Cumberland County Schools TN 7,544 http://www.ccschools.k12tn.net/

Fentress County Schools TN 2,233 http://www.fentress.k12tn.net Morgan County Schools TN 3,097 https://www.mcsed.net/

Overton County Schools TN 3,146 https://www.oc-sd.com/

Pickett County Schools TN 486 https://www.pickettk12.net/

Putnam County Schools TN 11,373 http://www.pcsstn.com/

Clinton County Schools KY 1,781 https://www.clinton.k12.ky.us/

Cumberland County Schools KY 912 https://www.cland.k12.ky.us/ Russell County Schools KY 855 https://www.russell.k12.ky.us/ Wayne County Schools KY 3,340 https://www3.wayne.kyschools.us/ Total number of students` 35,788

Home-schooling parents often turn to support groups or co-ops to organize group activities for their children. For example, CSHP is already listed on at least one home-school co-op website as a field trip destination: https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/homeschool-curriculum/cordell-hull-birthplace-and-museum-state-

2 “Estimate Your Bus Rental Pricing,” U.S. Coachways website, online at https://www.uscoachways.com/cost-calculator.php 3 Dunham, 11.

41 park.html. While we were not able to locate a directory of home-school support groups or co-ops in the Park’s local target market, they can sometimes be found on Facebook or by talking with local church leaders.

In order to maximize the benefit to teachers and administrators, the Park should make the field trip as easy and painless as possible, ensuring that program content meets applicable academic standards.

UNIVERSITY STUDENT GROUPS

University student groups are likely to visit the Park when the trips are organized by extracurricular organizations or by instructors for a specific class. As with K–12 educators, the Park can improve its appeal by working closely with student-group advisors and instructors to offer programs that meet their needs. Alternatively, the group/instructor could simply use the activity room to present their own program.

The following colleges and universities are located within an approximate 90-minute drive of CHSP. If the Park had compelling programs of interest to university faculty that would warrant a longer drive, the schools in Nashville and Knoxville, Tennessee, and Bowling Green, Kentucky, also could be potential customers. However, with driving times between 2–2.5 hours each way, those would appear to be lower priorities for immediate outreach.

College City, State # Students Volunteer State Community College – Livingston Campus Livingston, TN 11,384 Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, TN 10,504 Lindsey Wilson College Columbia, KY 2,565 Cumberland University Lebanon, TN 2,314 Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY 7,207 Roane State Community College Harriman, TN 5,626 Somerset Community College Somerset, KY 5,886

SENIOR CITIZEN GROUPS

The Upper Cumberland Area Agency on Aging and Disability (AAAD) in Cookeville covers the Tennessee counties in the target market area; their programs include Senior Centers, which offer “a comprehensive and coordinated system of programs and activities” and a county-by-county list of contact information for these centers (http://ucdd.org/aaad/senior-centers/). If the Senior Centers turn out to not be prospective customers themselves, their directors will likely know of other seniors groups or organizations in the area who may be interested in the Park’s programs or renting the activity room. The Upper Cumberland AAAD also puts on an annual Senior Expo, which brings together businesses, service providers, seniors, and caregivers for this one-day networking event.

YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS To locate scout troops and other local chapters of national organizations, please contact their regional offices: • Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, Cookeville Service Center https://gsmidtn.org/about-us/ • Girl Scouts of Kentucky, Wilderness Road Council, Mountain Laurel Cluster http://www.gskentucky.org/en/our-council/about-us.html • Catoosa District, Great Smoky Mountains Council, Boy Scouts of America (TN)

42 • https://www.easttnscouts.org/about/districts/catoosa/ • Lake Cumberland District, Blue Grass Council, Boy Scouts of America (KY) https://www.bgbsa.org/about- us/districts/lake-cumberland/65717 • Pickett County 4-H, https://extension.tennessee.edu/Pickett/Pages/4-H-Youth.aspx • Pickett County FFA, https://www.facebook.com/pickettffa/ • Tennessee State Parks “Run Club” for children and families https://tnstateparks.com/get-involved/youth- running-program

Byrdstown Residents

The nearby town of Byrdstown (2.5 miles east of the Park) is the seat of Pickett County, the least populous county in Tennessee. The year-round population has declined in recent years and in 2010 was about 800 people. Nearly all citizens are white (not Hispanic) and 80% are adults; more than 25% are 65 years old or older. From 2000 to 2010, the population in nearly all age groups declined by 15–20% with the exception of senior citizens, whose numbers increased by more than 2%.

Individual local residents are likely to rent the activity room for family gatherings, such as birthday parties, bridal showers, and family reunions. Ideally, individuals who rent the room for these occasions might also suggest its use to organizations with which they are affiliated, and vice versa.

The Park Manager reports that local clubs and groups have started booking Park programs, which are held in the activity center. Ideally, the Park will develop relationships with local organizations who are prospects for recurring (weekly or monthly) rentals. Potential local organization customers include:

• Civic associations • Fraternal organizations (without their own lodge halls) • Veterans’ groups (without their own halls) • Alumni associations • Crafting clubs, such as scrapbooking groups or knitting or quilting guilds • Other special interest/affinity groups

Byrdstown Businesses

Local businesses and nonprofit organizations could potentially use the activity room at the Park for meetings and company retreats.

A current list of the Byrdstown/Dale Hollow Chamber of Commerce members is available here: https://dalehollow.com/partners

Pickett County Demographics

Pickett County is almost entirely white (non-Hispanic). Just over 25% of households include children under the age of 18. The median age of County residents was 42 in 2010, with nearly 45% of all residents aged 45 or older. Younger Americans seem to be increasingly disinterested in historic sites. Historic sites experienced a significant decline in visitation between 2002–2008; a small uptick in recent years has not offset a net decline since 1982.

43 Most of the increase in visits during recent years can be attributed to people over the age of 35. Seniors aged 75 and older were the most frequent visitors to historic sites.

Pickett County is also the least educated county in Tennessee and one of the least educated counties in the United States (ranking 3,097th out of 3,142 counties), 4 with residents’ educational achievements as follows: • 13.2% of residents have a less than 9th grade education. • 12.9% attended 9th to 12th grade but did not receive a diploma. • 40.9% attained a high school diploma or equivalent. • 17.4% have attended some college, but did not earn a degree. • 8.5% have an Associate's degree. • 4.7% have a Bachelor's degree. • 2.3% hold a graduate or professional degree. This is pertinent because college graduates are more than twice as likely to visit a historic site (43%) as those with a high school diploma (17%), while fewer than 10% of those whose education ended without a high school diploma are likely visitors.5

Dale Hollow Visitors

The Park is 1.7 miles off State Route 111 on State Route 325, generally equidistant from Wolf River (to the north) and Obey River (to the south) and Dale Hollow Reservoir (to the west). According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, more than 2.7 million people each year visit the lake, primarily local residents nearby in Tennessee and Kentucky, as well as “a significant number of visitors” from Ohio and Indiana.6

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has noted that many lakes to the south, as well as (to a lesser extent) the east and west, compete with Dale Hollow Lake for local visitors. However, overcrowding and less-clear water in lakes in Ohio and Indiana serve to drive visitors from the north to Dale Hollow.7 The months of highest visitation are April through September.8

Approximately five miles to the west, SR-325 terminates at the Star Point Resort and Marina on Wolf River near where it meets the Obey River to form Dale Hollow Lake. Sunset Resort and Marina are located on SR-111, approximately four miles south of the Park near the Obey River Recreation Area.

During summer months, a shuttle from marinas to the Park would enable visitors on the lake to tie up at local slips and be transported to the Park for a day trip. For simplicity’s sake, a single shuttle could make pickups after lunch and bring everybody back starting around 3:30 p.m. This service could be based on the existing shuttle provided for golfers staying anywhere on Dale Hollow Lake, who can boat to Dale Hollow State Park Resort Marina for

4 Ben Wittstein, “Least Educated Counties in Every State,” The Stacker, July 8, 2019 online at https://thestacker.com/stories/1170/least-educated-place-every-state#43. 5 “Historic Site Visits,” Humanities Indicators: American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2018 (updated August 2019), online at https://humanitiesindicators.org/content/indicatordoc.aspx?i=101. 6 “Dale Hollow Lake Fact Sheet,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, undated; online at https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/Portals/73/docs/Civil%20Works/Ohio%20River%20System%20Projects/Navigation%20Proj ects/Nashville%20District/Cumberland%20River/Dale%20Hollow%20Fact%20Sheet%20FINAL.pdf. 7 “Dale Hollow Lake Master Plan Revision (draft),” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, January 2019, online at https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16021coll7/id/10596/rec/7, 73. 8 Ibid, 75.

44 shuttle service to the park’s golf course and lodge.9 Shuttle capacity could be managed by the individual marinas, which would share a proposed $5/person shuttle fee with CHSP. Sunset Marina can offer excess passengers a place to shop or eat while they wait at its Ships Store and Pier 42 Restaurant; Star Point Marina does not offer these amenities.

Competition

For the purposes of this Marketing Plan, the “competition” includes other rentable or reservable meeting rooms of similar size and outdoor picnic shelters.

The CHSP Park Manager has expressed an interest in constructing an outdoor picnic shelter, as well as in exploring the possibility of positioning the Park as a wedding venue. Therefore, those potential “competitive” spaces are included here as well.

Local Meeting Rooms and Spaces

According to the Park Manager, the Park activities room is one of the only places available locally for programming during the week. Park business hours limit its use to between 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. during the summer and 9:30– 4:30 p.m. the rest of the year. However, other meeting places in Byrdstown are also available during the same times. These include:

• The Pickett County High School agriculture building (141 Skyline Drive) is free of charge to reserve for events held weekdays between 8:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. when school is in session. However, the building is la • The Pickett County Library (79 Pickett Square Drive) has a community meeting room, which can be reserved by civic or nonprofit groups during regular library hours: 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Saturday. • Pickett County Community Center (105 S Main St.) has a small meeting room that is typically used for county commission meetings and can be reserved by the public. It holds several banquet-style folding tables as well as chairs that can be set up in a theater/audience configuration. The room can be reserved Monday–Friday from 11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. by calling the Senior Citizen Center director at 931-864-7972; the renter must pick up a key for access. The meeting room is also available anytime on Saturday or Sunday. • Fraternal lodges and association halls are other typical meeting venues or event rental spaces. However, the nearest American Legion halls are in Livingston and Jamestown, and no Knights of Columbus hall is located in the area. • Several churches in Byrdstown have parish halls that are available free of charge to their members for events such as family reunions and meetings. Based on this information, the Park activity room would seem to be the only public meeting space in the immediate area open after 2:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoons and on Sundays—prime times for wedding receptions, baby showers, family reunions, and similar social events.

The Park meeting room is also available for business use during the week, unlike the spaces listed above. This makes CHSP an attractive and affordable location for business planning retreats, training classes, etc.

9 “Dale Hollow Lake,” Kentucky State Parks, undated; online at https://parks.ky.gov/golf/courses/dale-hollow-lake/.

45 Local Parks with Shelters or Activity Rooms

Pickett County does not have a municipal or county Parks and Recreation department.10

Overton and Clay Counties also have no municipal or county Parks and Recreation departments.

State Parks with Shelters or Activity Rooms

CHSP is listed as one of the parks with a meeting room or event space on the Tennessee State Parks website “Meetings and Event Spaces” (https://tnstateparks.com/groups/meetings). The website’s “Find A Park” page (https://tnstateparks.com/about/find-a-park) allows users to search for parks with amenities including “meeting rooms” and “event venues.” A search for parks with meeting rooms, manually narrowed to the Upper Cumberland Region, yielded only one result: Cumberland Mountain State Park. CHSP was not on this list. The website returned no results for state parks with event venues. This appears to be an error within the TSP website database that should be addressed. Utilizing the list of parks with meeting rooms from the aforementioned “Meetings and Event Spaces” page, we narrowed that list down to the Upper Cumberland region within a 90-minute drive from CHSP. These include:

• Cumberland Mountain State Park is located in Crossville, Tennessee, 70 miles (a 90-minute drive) from CHSP. The park’s Homestead Harvest Restaurant has three meeting rooms for rent: o Meeting Room A: 70’ x 30’ room (2,100 square feet) seats up to 90 at tables or 150 with chairs only. $150 per day. o Meeting Rooms B and C: each are 30’ x 30’ rooms (900 square feet) and seat 24 at tables or 40 with chairs only. $100 per day. • Edgar Evins State Park is located in Silver Point, Tennessee, approximately 75 miles (90 minutes) from CHSP. A small meeting room within the park’s Interpretive Center is available for $75/day and can accommodate 24 people with three tables, 24 chairs, and a full kitchen and restroom, as well as a 55-inch television. • Frozen Head State Park, in Morgan County TN, has a slightly larger activity room (but no kitchen) available for $75 per day between 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Cordell Hull State Park is approximately 62 miles (a 1.5- hour drive) from the Morgan County seat, Wartburg. • Standing Stone State Park, a 37-minute/30-mile drive from CHSP in Hilham, Tennessee, offers a “Board Room” for 8 people ($25/day) and an 800-square-foot Tea Room that can accommodate 80 people and features an additional outdoor deck. The Tea Room rents for $150/day, Monday–Thursday, and $250/day Friday–Sunday. Nearby Tennessee State Parks in the Upper Cumberland/Cumberland Plateau region include the Obey River Recreation Area and Cove Creek Recreation Area, both in Byrdstown; and the Pickett State Park and Forest (located in both Pickett and Fentress Counties), and Pickett State Rustic Park Historic District, both in Sharp Place.

Nearby campgrounds with open picnic shelters that can be reserved for day use through Reservation.gov include the Obey River Park campground in the Obey River Recreation Area; the Lillydale Campground and Willow Grove Campground, both near Allons, Tennessee, near the center of the lake; and the Dale Hollow Damsite Campground, on the western end of the lake. The fees for reserving a picnic shelter at any one of these campgrounds is $40 per day year-round, with or without electric service.

10 Ibid, 77.

46 Value Proposition

The Cordell Hull Birthplace State Historic Site offers an affordable meeting/event space for visitors to Dale Hollow Lake, local residents and businesses, and student/senior groups from a 10-county area within the Upper Cumberland region.

Marketing Strategy

CHSP should utilize a two-pronged marketing approach, reaching out directly to potential customers, as well as to influencers such as tourism bureaus, chambers of commerce, nearby marinas, and County Extension Offices.

Positioning Strategy

A positioning strategy articulates one or two main points that will be the focus of a marketing campaign. CHSP should focus its marketing messages on the affordable cost/high perceived relative value of the rental space and its convenience – in terms of the Park’s geographic location relative to its potential customers, the meeting room’s location within the Park (near the roadway and parking lot), and the room’s amenities (specifically, the small kitchen and space for 45 people). CHSP’s marketing materials should incorporate the following words:

• Affordable • Inexpensive • Convenient location • Easy access • Accessible • Adjacent Images to support the positioning strategy could include: • A map with the target market area (90-minute radius) and list of counties/cities served • Aerial views of the parking lot, walkway, and headquarters location • A family, including an older person with a walker and stroller-pushing parents, using the accessible entrance to the Park headquarters building • Adults and children happily lighting candles on a birthday cake in the kitchen • A business meeting with the new projector in use • A group of people on the porch and climbing the front steps of the headquarters building, carrying wrapped gift boxes and gift bags for a baby shower • A wedding reception, showing the space decorated and full of guests and bridal party All of the photos should be staged with volunteers (perhaps from the Friends of Cordell Hull group and their families) and professionally photographed. Volunteers must sign photo release forms, giving CHSP permission to use their likenesses for any purpose, in perpetuity.

Pricing Strategy

Pricing the room rental appropriately can help drive rentals or hinder them; it needs to be high enough to suggest a quality experience without being so high that it is unaffordable. Choosing that price point is one of the most critical decisions that Park management will make. Although the previous report listed a rental rate of $100 per day, the

47 actual rental fee being charged today is $50 per day. This is lower than other indoor meeting spaces and more in line with the daily charge for outdoor picnic shelters at state parks (see “Competition” on previous pages). The daily rate currently being charged is so low that it suggests a poor-quality experience. Rental fees should be immediately raised to $100 per day, which is still a reasonable and affordable rate, particularly for the target audiences identified in this report.

Marketing Outlets

Marketing can be accomplished through a wide variety of media and outlets. In some cases, CHSP will want to “push” information promoting the meeting room as a rental space, through advertisements, direct mail, etc. “Pull” marketing involves developing a loyal following that can draw potential customers and return customers. Examples of “push” marketing include:

• Direct marketing/mail: sales letters, brochures, flyers • Advertising in print media, directories • Publicity/press releases • Trade shows: for example, the Upper Cumberland Senior Expo, an annual event for seniors and caregivers put on by the Upper Cumberland Area Agency on Aging and Disabilities. The Expo, now in its 18th year, takes place in Cookeville and attracts hundreds of attendees from a 14-county area that includes the Park’s target market area to learn about services and resources that improve their quality of life.

“Pull” media include:

• Park website • Social media: Most Park events are advertised and promoted on the Park’s Facebook page and the Friends of Cordell Hull State Park Facebook page, at https://www.facebook.com/Cordellhullbirthplace (with about 1,650 followers) and https://www.facebook.com/Friends-Of-Cordell-Hull-360489312318 (about 300 followers), respectively. • Recreation.gov: The National Recreation Reservation Service at Recreation.gov allows users to reserve campgrounds and picnic shelters online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week; picnic shelters can be reserved up to 365 days (1 year) in advance. The Park should be using this system to facilitate online reservations, rather than requiring people to book the space over the phone.

Tourism/Chambers of Commerce as Influencers

Counties within the target market area do not have Convention and Visitors Bureaus with which the Park could collaborate. The county Chambers of Commerce seem to fill that role.

• Clay County (TN) Chamber of Commerce: https://dalehollowlake.org/chamber/ • Cumberland County (TN) Chamber of Commerce: https://www.crossville-chamber.com/ • Fentress County (TN) Chamber of Commerce: http://www.jamestowntn.org/ • Morgan County (TN) Chamber of Commerce: http://www.morgancountychamber.com/ • Overton County (TN) Chamber of Commerce: https://www.tnvacation.com/local/livingston- livingstonoverton-county-chamber-commerce • Pickett County (TN) Chamber of Commerce: https://dalehollow.com/chamber-commerce • Putnam County (TN) Chamber of Commerce: https://cookevillechamber.com/

48 • Clinton County (KY) Chamber of Commerce: http://albanyclintonchamber.com/ • Cumberland County (KY) Chamber of Commerce: https://www.cumberlandcountychamber.com/ • Russell County (KY) Chamber of Commerce: https://russellcountychamber.com/ • Wayne County (KY) Chamber of Commerce: http://www.monticellokychamber.com/

However, the Upper Cumberland Tourism Association does not list CHSP as a destination of any kind, despite Pickett County having a page on their website: https://uppercumberland.org

Marinas as Influencers

The Dale Hollow Lake Marina Association publishes the Dale Hollow Lake Explorer visitors guide, which accepts advertising from associate members. The Park could partner with the Association on cross-promotions. The 11 marinas which comprise the Association include:

Dale Hollow Marina (www.dalehollowmarina.com) Dale Hollow State Park Marina (www.dhstateparkmarina.com) East Port Marina and Resort (www.eastport.info) Hendricks Creek Resort (www.hendrickscreekresort.com) Horse Creek Dock and Resort (www.horsecreek-resort.com) Mitchell Creek Marina (www.mitchellcreekmarina.com) Star Point Resort (www.starpointresort.com) Sulphur Creek Resort (www.sulphurcreek.com) Sunset Marina and Resort (www.sunsetmarina.com) Willow Grove Resort (www.willowgrove.com Wolf River Resort and Marina (www.wolf-river.com)

Many of these marinas appear to have loyal followings, with repeat customers from year to year. As a result, they could serve as valuable influencers, promoting the park to their visitor base.

Extension Offices as Influencers

The University of Tennessee maintains Extension Offices in several counties providing research-based solutions and information to the citizens of Tennessee in the areas of Agriculture, Family and Consumer Sciences, Community Resource Development, and 4-H Youth Development. The Extension Service could be a partner, holding programs at CHSP, or an influencer, as they provide information and recommendations to citizens. The Park’s target market includes counties in both the Central and Western regions of the Extension Service.

49

For current contacts in target counties, please follow the hyperlinks below:

Clay County Extension Office (Celina, TN) Cumberland County Extension Office (Crossville, TN) Fentress County Extension Office (Jamestown, TN) Morgan County Extension Office (Wartburg, TN) Pickett County Extension Office (Byrdstown, TN) Putnam County Extension Office (Cookeville, TN) Overton County Extension Office (Livingston, TN)

Goals and Metrics

The Cordell Hull State Historic Park has an earned revenue goal of 3% of Park expenses. Annual expenses have averaged $150,000 per year for the past five years, resulting in a $4,500 revenue goal for the Park overall.

Revenue-generating activities at the Park include: • Event ticket sales • Donation tube near museum front entrance • Activity room rentals The Park has historically rented the activity room only 1–2 times per year. The Park’s goal should be to rent the room more each year until it reaches it revenue target, and then adjust rental frequency targets accordingly if Park expenses increase. In order to bring in $4,500 in annual revenue at $100/day, the Park would need to rent the meeting room 45 times during the year. A gradual approach to meeting that goal might look like this:

Year Rentals/Month Revenue/Month Total Annual Revenue 2020 2 $200 $2,400 2021 3 $300 $3,600 2022 4 $400 $4,800

Pro Forma Marketing Budget

A rule of thumb for start-up businesses is to spend about 15–20% of expected gross revenue on marketing. Based on the goals listed above, marketing budgets would be $480 in 2020, $720 in 2021, and $960 in 2022. For example, Initial marketing efforts in 2020 could include:

50

Annual membership in the Pickett County Chamber of Commerce $50 Direct mail letters/color flyers (11 marinas, 11 Chambers, and 7 Extension Offices ) Print 29 letters and flyers (2 sheets, color, 1 side) x 3 mailings $54 29 #10 envelopes with $0.55 postage x 3 mailings $48 Bi-monthly display ads in the Pickett County Press newspaper 3” x 2 columns x $5 per column inch = $50/month x 6 $300 TOTAL $452

Additional Recommendations

To further improve the rental potential of the meeting room, consider the following:

• Add interpretive panels on the walls, so that if visitors only see that building/room, they will still be exposed to the history of the site. • Remove any other items/artifacts that do are not affixed to the walls (e.g., the uninterpreted recliner) from the room to prevent damage to those items and ensure maximum clear space. • Add any notices, such as instructions for the kitchen, as laminated pages with a uniform design, font, color scheme, etc. • Place signs asking attendees to post photos of their event to Facebook and tag the Park

51