A Macon County group will renovate the old bank building in Red Boiling Springs to transform it into a Heritage Museum.
Rita Watson is the Executive Director of Vision 2020. The non-profit received a $10,000 grant from Tennessee America 250 to kick start the project.
“Thousands of people came every season to stay in our little town, and, so the bank was a vital part of the economics around here,” Watson said. “So, it was a good place for us to start a museum.”
Watson said the small, brick building dated back to 1928 when Red Boiling Springs was a bustling mineral spa town. She said she hopes the new Heritage Museum will serve as tribute to the town’s tourism history and attract new visitors of its own.
The museum will feature an updated, revolving display, according to Watson, who said the project stems from the need to educate the youth about the history of the town.
“They have no idea about the music that played from one end of Main Street to the other end of Main Street,” Watson said. “About the orchestras that came and spent time [here]. They have no idea about the people who’ve been here. They certainly have no idea about the medicinal qualities of the water.”
Watson said Middle Tennessee was chock full of mineral towns, but Red Boiling Springs stood out as one of the largest hubs for mineral spa tourism. She said the town was revered for having five different types of medicinal spring water and 12 large hotels for wealthy tourists.
“They came for their health, they came to get away from the big cities, they came for some quiet, some relaxation — all those kinds of things,” Watson said.
Vision 2020 collaborated with the MTSU Historic Preservation group and the TN Downtowns Program, and Mark Evans Masonry for the beautification project. The team sourced historic brick from across the state to repair the three-layer brick stronghold to its former glory.
“It’s just unique in its history. It’s not like any other place in Tennessee, or even the U.S,” Watson said. “In fact, we are the only town named Red Boiling Springs in the world.”
Just as the mineral springs improved the quality of life of the tourist and the town’s residents, the new Heritage Museum aims to better the lives of the next generation of RBS citizens.
“It’s well known that if you have tourists who came to town and they spend their money in your town, you have economic growth,” Watson said. .
Additionally, Watson said it gives a community a sense of pride when they realize other people regard the town as special enough to be worth the trip. She also said she is concerned that they are raising a generation of kids who have forgotten the town’s recent history.
