Director of Communications
amanda.murphy@tn.gov
615-741-9010
Senior Communications Manager
jill.kilgore@tn.gov
615-927-1320
Communications Manager
Alli.Lapps@tn.gov
KINGSPORT, Tenn. – The Burow Museum is set to open with a commissioning ceremony 2 p.m. June 25 at the Exchange Place.
The Burow Museum will add to the ability of the historic site to tell the story of Exchange Place and the life of settlers prior to the Civil War.
The event, open to the public, will include live music provided by Tennessee Border and free refreshments provided through the generosity of the Kingsport Convention and Visitors Bureau. The farmstead will be open for tours until 4:30 p.m.
Back in the late 1790s, Revolutionary War veteran Ambrose Gaines built a log cabin on his property (along present-day Stone Drive), and subsequently built a second cabin close by. They were later incorporated side by side into a larger house with added bedrooms, dining room and kitchen. Henceforth, it was known as the Gaines-Anderson House. In 1950, it was moved farther back on the property to make way for the construction of Stone Drive.
Ownership continued to pass down among family descendants until the 1980s, when Katherine Anderson Boyd inherited the property and eventually deeded it to the Bancroft Gospel Ministries. It served as living quarters for the Bancroft Bible Camp staff for decades until it was decided to demolish the house and sell the property.
Because of their connection with the John Gaines family, the cabins were offered to Exchange Place. Mike Faust, an historic restoration expert, was tapped to move the logs and construct the long-awaited museum with funds accumulated primarily through the efforts of volunteers Suzanne Burow and her late husband, Richard. Fittingly, the museum now bears their name.
Exchange Place is a non-profit, volunteer-run living history farm, a member of the non-profit Netherland Inn-Exchange Place Association. It is an educational facility and regional attraction that seeks to preserve, protect, interpret, and manage the history, heritage, and artifacts pertaining to mid-19th century farm life in Northeast Tennessee.
For more information, call 423-288-6071, or visit www.exchangeplace.info.
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Director of Communications
amanda.murphy@tn.gov
615-741-9010
Senior Communications Manager
jill.kilgore@tn.gov
615-927-1320
Communications Manager
Alli.Lapps@tn.gov