Historian Rick Warwick to Discuss Historic Photographs at Free Event

Heritage Foundation
photo from Heritage Foundation

Renowned Williamson County Historian Rick Warwick will be presenting the second lecture in a year-long Warwick Lecture Series hosted by the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County, TN on Tuesday, July 7 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The free-to-the-public event will be held at The Franklin Theatre and discuss historic photographs of Lemuel Parker of the Bingham community.

Lemuel Parker was a jack-of-all-trades. He had a sawmill, he built houses, he was a farmer and he made coffins. In 1910, he purchased a camera, developing processing vat and chemicals from Sears & Roebuck and became a photographer.

A box of glass negatives was found in the upstairs of his log cabin by Dr. Walter Pyle in the early 1950s. Dr. Pyle gave the negatives to Pepper Bruce of Fernvale, a fellow photographer. The negatives were given to Rick Warwick in 2000. Since digitized, Parker’s images are sharp, focused and reveal a lot about the lives of the people who lived along Old Hillsboro Road between Bingham and Leiper’s Fork.

This Heritage Foundation sponsored education program is free and open to the public, but limited seating is available.  The event, originally scheduled to be held at the Heritage Foundation offices, has been moved to The Franklin Theatre to allow for additional space to social distance. To comply with COVID-19 guidelines and to ensure everyone’s safety, attendance is limited to 50 and seating will be spaced appropriately.

Guidelines for the theater that will be enforced include requiring all patrons to:

· Wear cloth face coverings while in the theater.
· Have temperatures read upon entry to the building.
· Purchase tickets online in advance of the event.
· Arrive at the theater at assigned times as indicated on tickets.
· Refrain from congregating in the lobby or hallways.
· Exit the building promptly at the conclusion of the event.

Tickets must be reserved in advance at www.WilliamsonHeritage.org/Events. Registration will be open until end of business on July 5 and will be limited to the first 50 people who register.

ABOUT THE WARWICK LECTURE SERIES:  Named after beloved county historian Rick Warwick, the Warwick Lecture Series is a quarterly local history- or preservation-focused program produced by the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County, TN.

ABOUT THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY:  Since 1967, the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County has been dedicated to preserving Williamson County’s architectural, geographic and cultural heritage as well as promoting the ongoing revitalization of downtown Franklin in the context of historic preservation. Notable projects include The Franklin Theatre, Roper’s Knob, parts of the Franklin battlefield and the Old, Old Jail. The Foundation brings county history to about 3,000 school children each year through the Heritage Classroom program as well as walking tours of downtown Franklin. Events and festivals produced by the Heritage Foundation such as Main Street Festival, the Heritage Ball, Pumpkinfest and Dickens of a Christmas bring hundreds of thousands of locals and visitors to downtown Franklin each year. The Heritage Foundation owns and operates The Franklin Theatre, the Downtown Franklin Association, and the organization’s newest division and current restoration project, Franklin Grove Estate & Gardens. For more information about the Heritage Foundation, visit www.williamsonheritage.org.

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