T.R.R. Cobb House Museum

Social Media Assistant Henry is getting into the holiday spirit after receiving a few holiday cards and wanted to learn more about sending his own! He checked out the Travel Writing Desk that we have on display in Tom’s sitting room since it looked like it might be the right size for him. Our curator joked that this was the 19th century equivalent of the laptop computer, since it was easy to carry for all your important communication needs. Henry got to check out the cool sec...ret compartments hiding under the green felt (also called baize cloth). Letters and paper could be saved there. The green felt protects the wood underneath from scratches from writing utensils. You can also see a travel ink well that could be used! There is also a drawer that opens for an additional compartment, but unfortunately it didn’t want to open today. While this travel desk did not belong to the Cobbs, Tom likely took a similar one on trips he took to New Orleans, Virginia, and such. See more

Social Media Assistant Henry had so much fun dropping off items at May Patterson Goodrum House and the conservator today! Henry will be off the rest of the week, but will return for his regular post next Friday!

Since Social Media Assistant Henry will have next Friday off for the Thanksgiving holiday, we decided that he needed to help us prepare for a very special field trip next week. Some of our items need to go to a conservator. A conservator is a person responsible for the repair and preservation of works of art, buildings, or other things if cultural or environmental interest. We are also donating some items to our sister museum, May Patterson Goodrum House, which you may reme...mber Henry visiting earlier this year. Henry had a chance to check out some of the items he will be delivering to the Goodrum House and the conservator, including the panels which were painted by Tom Cobb’s niece around 1870 (Laura Cobb Rutherford’s daughter). Henry still didn’t understand why conservation was important, so we showed him the difference in Mary Ann Lamar Cobb’s fan. The fan was conserved a few years ago and now can be on display! You can see images of the before and after here. We will share images of Henry’s journey next week! See more

Social Media Assistant Henry was so excited to meet our new Junior Board members this week! We discussed the upcoming grant cycle and what adjustments will need to be made. If you plan to apply for the Watson-Brown Junior Board Grant cycle (for the Athens chapter at least), please be sure to pay close attention to the application this year. Changes may be in place due to social distancing/ virtual site visit requirements for this year to ensure safety for everyone. We will be releasing the 2021 applications next month, and will have a post dedicated to what those changes are when it comes out!

Social Media Assistant Henry was sad that he hasn’t been able to find any more National Park Service sites to add to his Junior Bark Ranger status recently, so he planned a trip to Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park today. A year after Tom Cobb’s death, Chattanooga was the gateway to controlling the Confederacy. The battles started along Chickamauga creek in northern Georgia and continued up into Tennessee. These battles were known as the death knell of the Confederacy. Henry didn’t make it to Chattanooga today, but he did have a lot of fun checking out some of the monuments, cannons, and grassy fields at Chickamauga. He also earned another Junior Ranger badge, and was so proud to wear it on his bandana.