NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Agricultural Museum will replace the deck on its historic one-room schoolhouse with a larger, safer deck and add a wheelchair-accessible ramp, improving access for students, families, and visitors of all abilities.
The Oscar L. Farris Agricultural Museum Association (OFAMA) was awarded a $14,800 grant as part of the Tennessee State Museum 2026-27 Capital Maintenance and Improvements Grant to fund a project that will remove a significant barrier to experiencing one of the museum’s important historic resources.
“The one-room schoolhouse helps bring Tennessee’s agricultural and rural history to life, and we want every student and visitor to have the opportunity to experience it,” Tennessee Agricultural Museum Director Elaura Guttormson, Ph.D., said. “This project will help us create a safer, more accessible space where visitors of all abilities can connect with our state’s history.”
The schoolhouse is an important part of the museum’s educational programming, including fall field trips for Metro Nashville Public Schools. The accessibility improvements will help ensure students with mobility limitations can participate in hands-on learning experiences in an authentic historic setting.
The project will support the museum’s mission to preserve and interpret Tennessee’s agricultural and rural heritage for future generations.
The Tennessee General Assembly appropriated $5 million in the 2026-27 Appropriations Act for grants to museums under the Tennessee State Museum 2026-27 Capital Maintenance and Improvements Grant program.
The Tennessee Agricultural Museum offers free admission and provides educational programs, exhibits and special events that attract more than 15,000 people annually. The museum features more than 3,000 artifacts across two levels of exhibits, an heirloom garden, three historic cabins and a replica schoolhouse. The museum is located at 404 Hogan Road in Nashville, Tenn.
OFAMA supports the museum’s agricultural education efforts by providing funding, volunteers and other resources that help advance its mission.
Translation and interpretation services for this press release are available free of charge. Please contact Kim.Doddridge@tn.gov.
