522 W Madison Ave
Athens, TN 37303
(423) 745-0329
www.livingheritagemuseum.org
Our mission
Our mission is to steward the history and heritage of McMinn County and the region. This mission is met by collecting, preserving, and interpreting artifacts, artwork, and other items representative of our community’s culture, both past and present. Meeting this mission offers education and enrichment for the public and visitors of all ages, races, and ethnicities.
Our vision
The McMinn County Living Heritage Museum works to preserve our community's distinctive history, share its rich heritage, and celebrate its unique culture for the education and enrichment of the public and all visitors. Founded in 1982, the McMinn County Living Heritage Museum is a private, nonproft organization housing more than 12,000 artifacts across permanent and temporary exhibits that represent the culture and history of South East Tennessee from the 1700s to the present.
South East Tennessee and the greater Appalachian area. Most visitors are local to East Tennessee, but we get many from out of state who are traveling through the area or visiting to research family history.
The museum was founded in 1982 by Muriel Mayfield and Mintie Willson. We first opened our doors in the Old College building on the Tennessee Wesleyan University campus. In 1989, the former McMinn County High School building was renovated to become the new museum site. This new building allowed us to grow our collection and storage space, and we now have more than 12,000 artifacts in our collection. There was no local history museum at the time of founding the museum, and now we serve our community to help preserve local history and educate future generations.
