There will be a tag sale at the historic Bibb House this week which will feature some of the items that have been stored there over the years.
This is part of the phase one transformation of the house into an educational museum.
“A lot of the items that have been stored in the house not relevant to the the story and history of the Bibb House,” said Joe Gran Clark Clark, who is on the board which is in charge of the Bibb House. “In the past it’s been set up as a house museum where people can walk through and get glimpses of interior settings from different time periods. We are changing the purpose and focus of the Bibb House to turn it into an educational museum to address the historical events that happened there and the social issues that they impacted.”
Revolutionary War Major Richard Bibb freed 29 of his slaves in 1829 and he freed the remaining 52 slaves at his death in 1839. Bibb’s home was donated to the public by Miss Agnes Davis, a pioneer in the struggle for women’s rights who found success as an early businesswoman running the VC fertilizer company.
The renovated museum will tell the story of the emancipations that occurred at this site and the ongoing struggles for civil rights. The museum will be available for school tours and exhibits will include audio-visual interactive components along with traditional fixed displays. Pre and post tour curriculum activities will be offered via an upgraded website and the the Saddle Factory Museum and the West Kentucky African American Heritage Center will also be available for educational tours.
“This is one of the few places in the nation that is publicly owned and where there were large numb of emancipations that took place,” Clark said. “We feel feel a duty to teach that history.”
All the proceeds from the tag sale will go toward the renovations of the museum. It will be added to money from a grant from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation. The funding will provide for repairs to the structure, modifications for handicap accessibility and development of museum exhibits.
“We’re not going to be able to do all of what’s needed, but we’ve prioritized the work that needs to be done,” Clark said.
The primary advisers for this project are Dr. Ann Butler, chair of the Center of Excellence for the Study of Kentucky African Americans at Kentucky State University and John Egerton, noted southern historian and author.
The museum has worked with curators of Nashville’s Belmont Mansion and the Shaker Museum at South Union to identify the historically significant items in the house that will be retained for the educational activities. This process has been completed and a public tag sale of the other furnishings will be held on Friday, Nov. 16, and Saturday, Nov. 17, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and again on Sunday, Nov. 18, from 1-5 p.m.
The sale will include a wide variety of furniture, china, glassware, art, lighting fixtures, garden ornaments and collectibles. James Christian and Associates of Springfield, Tenn., is conducting the sale. For more information, you can see their website at www.estatesales.net.
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