At Risk: Memories of Cordell Hull and Sergeant York

Will rivalries, buck-passing, and bureaucratic delay deprive tomorrow's Appalachians of some unique history? At Risk: Memories of Cordell Hull and Sergeant York Fred Brown Historians, lovers of antiquities, and others are in shock in Tennessee over news that the homes and artifacts of two of the state's most recognized heroes are in mortal danger of disappearing while the state agencies in charge of preservation twiddle their thumbs in Nero-like indifference. In one case, the Cordell Hull birthplace and museum, near Byrdstown, faces a variety of threats. There is little or no protection from fire or theft. Hordes of insects dine voraciously on the very foundations of the building as well as on the original photographs of the man who served as Secretary of State longer than any other American in history. Not far down the road in a neighboring county along the mighty Cumberland Plateau is the home of Sergeant Alvin York. All of the old soldier's memorabilia are in the home, but the state has failed to install even minimal protection from fire and theft. Dan Webber, director of the state's museums, shakes his head in wonder and says the York home and all of the artifacts from the famous World War I hero are "at risk." The sad story of both historic Appalachian sites is one of neglect by the Tennessee Historic Commission and the State Department of Conservation and Environment. The Historic Commission has been awarded both federal and state funds for the Cordell Hull home. For reasons known only to the commission nothing has been spent for Fred Brown is a staff writer for the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 25 preservation. Similarly, the Conservation Department has had tax dollars appropriated for a number ofyears but has failed to use the funds on the York home. Now the money is no longer in the budget. Three years ago, the state set aside $477,000 to develop the Alvin C. York homesite into a historic landmark worthy of the World War I sergeant's legend and to accommodate the more than 70,000 visitors who come every year. None of that money has been spent, and the message from the Tennessee Department ofFinance and Administration, which pays the bills for the project, is not encouraging. Webber, who oversees the state's museums and interpretative centers, says that something must be done soon. Otherwise, visitors might not find anything to see after they wander up the scenic Wolf River Valley to the bottomlands of Pall Mall. The state has owned the York property—house, gristmill, store, post office and former Bible school—since 1967. Under an agreement with the state government Gracie York, the sergeant's widow, lived at the home until she died in 1984; the state was then supposed to assume complete responsibility for the home. How well has the state lived up to its obligation? Archaeologists and historians cringed in despair recently when the authorities paved the gravel parking lot at the gristmill. Since no study of the area was performed before the asphalt went down, valuable artifacts may have been lost for all time. That isn't the worst horror, however. "Everything Sergeant York owned is in that house," says Dan Webber. "The entire collection is at risk." Though the house's contents are of little monetary value, they hold incalculable historic significance. But the two-story frame house has no fire protection. Fortunately, Andrew Jackson York, one of the sergeant's sons, spends much of his time on the property, as manager of the mill and the house. A strange feature of the situation is that ownership of the contents of the house, according to Webber, isn't clear. Andy York, however, insists that the family has control of the collection. This murky issue holds the house and its contents hostage. The contents cannot be moved or protected by the state if the state does not own them, Webber says: "One thing the state needs to do is to determine finally who owns the contents of the house. That is the first step to be taken. We can't take any of it out [for protection] unless we own...