Dudney: Historic Preservation Important To Region

Public Historian Mark Dudney said that the Upper Cumberland puts a lot of effort into preserving its history.

May is Historic Preservation Month. Dudney said there is multiple tactics to preserve the history.

“A lot of people doing really good work to preserve the culture and the history of the Upper Cumberland,” Dudney said. “You know not just for visitors but for our citizens to you know, know more about their communities.”

Dudney is also the Historic Preservation Planner for the Upper Cumberland Development District. One tactic is to simply talk about the history, Dudney said, which lets the history live on.

“Historic Preservation is very broadly defined,” Dudney said. “It’s a little bit separate you know oral history is a little bit separate from what I do in my work, but there are partners of mine who are doing really good work, you know there associated with Tech, Tennessee Tech University.”

Dudney said Upper Cumberland communities are actively preserving history through upkeep of historical places using grants they have received.

“Some of the grants are not that big but the communities are committed to what they’re doing,” Dudney said. “And so we keep at it until its done you know its not a one off kind of thing.”

One of the current projects that Dudney is involved in is the Cumberland National Scenic Byway. The project is a road trip guide that list events along the byway and explain the animal migration, Native American culture, European Westward expansion from the Cumberland Gap to Clay County.

Dudney said that Digital Humanities is also playing a key roll in preserving history. Digital Humanities is a process of taking old recordings of history and creating a database to store them.