For the sixth consecutive year, Tennessee History for Kids will produce Summer Road Shows at fascinating places in Tennessee History.
In 2026, here are our 2 Summer Road Shows:
Barry Thacker of the Coal Creek Watershed Foundation gives a tour
Friday, July 17: Coal Creek Wars of Anderson County AND the History of the Tennessee River
Under the new social studies standards, the Coal Creek War is being moved from high school to fifth grade. So, starting in 2027, ALL fifth grade social studies teachers will have to teach about the Coal Creek War.
Fortunately, Barry Thacker and Carol Moore have been leading teacher and student events about the Coal Creek War for more than 20 years. On Friday, July 17, they will be the key presenters at a Summer Inservice that will be held at Briceville Elementary School in Anderson County.
Carol Moore and Barry Thacker
This event will include presentations on what occurred in Coal Creek and Briceville between the end of the Civil War and 1910, including how the mining company tried to replace free miners with inmates from the Tennessee State Prison; the long, violent saga that followed that tested the meaning of the U.S. Constitution’s Thirteenth Amendment; and the two tragic explosions that killed hundreds of miners after the Coal Creek War ended. Teachers will also be taken to the Coal Creek Museum in Rocky Top, to the site of one of the old mines, and to the cemetery where many of the victims of the explosions are buried.
After lunch, “History Bill” will present on the history of the Tennessee River and its tributaries AND explain how the Tennessee social studies standards are changing. All attendees will receive sample TN History for Kids workbooks, which includes some of the new 2027 editions.
This event will begin at Briceville Elementary School, at 9 a.m. Eastern. Registration costs $40 per person, and that includes lunch. Click HERE to register for the Summer Road Show on Coal Creek and the Tennessee River on Friday, July 17.
Eric Hughey leading a tour of Fort Loudon at a TN History for Kids event in 2019.
Monday, July 20: Fort Loudoun, Sequoyah and Statehood
This all-day event will focus on early Tennessee history (from 1750 to when Tennessee became a state). It will include guided tours of Fort Loudoun State Park, led by Eric Hughey, and of the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, led by Charlie Rhodarmer.
Attendees at the TN History for Kids event at the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum in 2019
The stories of Fort Loudoun and Sequoyah are intertwined with the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, and how Tennessee became a state. During this Summer Road Show, teachers will tour the wonderful replica of Fort Loudoun and hear the sad story of what happened there in the 1750s and after. Then teachers will proceed to the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum and learn about the Cherokee man who invented a written language that changed Cherokee life forever, but not enough to stop the forced migration now known as the Trail of Tears. After lunch, “History Bill” will do a presentation about what he calls the “Twenty Years War” between many Native Americans and settlers between 1775 and 1795, which culminated in Tennessee becoming a state. He will then explain the changes in the social studies standards and distribute workbooks, which include some of the new 2027 editions.
Charlie Rhodarmer at a TN History for Kids event
This event will begin at Fort Loudoun State Park at 9 a.m. Eastern. Registration costs $40 per person, which includes lunch.
Click here to register for the Fort Loudoun/Sequoyah Summer Road Show on Monday, July 20.
