Exhibits

The colorful and dynamic heritage of railroading is showcased with artifacts including an oil can, brake wheel, lanterns, maps, and a L&N segregation sign telling of the connection between the railroad and civil rights. This exhibit has been expanded to include a touch-screen detailing historic sites throughout Dickson, Tennessee, a hands-on display of a steam engine cabin, and an actual steam engine headlight are also showcased. 

All aboard!

The Clement family rooms are furnished with items original to the museum from when it was ran as the Hotel Halbrook from 1914-1954. These rooms are set up to reflect the early 1920s when hotel manager, Belle Goad , along with her family lived in these rooms on the first floor. One of the most important rooms in the State of Tennessee is on display in Room #5, where Governor Frank G. Clement was born on June 02, 1920. This area furnished with several pieces original to our site and the Clement family, highlighting the Governor's humble origins before rising to national acclaim as the 41st Governor of Tennessee. 

The Dickson County Commerce exhibit features the history of commerce and industry in one of the oldest counties in Tennessee. This exhibit includes the display of a locally made Dixie Swatter baseball bat, a 1930s Coca Cola bottle impressed with ‘Dickson Tenn’ on the bottom, the 50-millionth shirt made by the textile company "Red Kap," and numerous artifacts highlighting the history of the Dickson County Chamber of Commerce.

The Iron Room tells the story of the iron industry and how it created Dickson COunty in 1803. This exhibit also highlights each of the incorporated communities: Burns, Charlotte, Slayden, Vanleer, White Bluff, and Dickson.  Visitors will be introduced to the failed socialist experiment of the Ruskin Colony and to Promise Land, an unincorporated community founded by formerly enslaved people in rural Dickson County, soon after the American Civil War.

The triumph and tragedy of the Civil War tell the story of the 12th and 13th U.S. Colored Infantry and the building of the railroad during the Civil War. Dickson City  is a community originally founded as "Milepost 42," in service to a Union built railroad. This exhibit demonstrates the odd history of a community sympathetic to Confederate ideology while holding strong economic ties to the Union. 

The Dickson Model Railroad Club has partnered with the Clement Railroad Hotel Museum to establish a permanent display of model trains, landscaping and buildings. The display is manned by volunteer “engineers” who maintain the trains as well as both entertain and educate visitors in the art of model railroading. This exhibit recreates the Dickson rail yard during the 1920s and 1930s. Interested in helping build this new and exciting model railroad exhibit? The Model Railroad Club is recruiting new members! Drop by the Museum and talk with one of the “engineers” in the exhibit.

Eight principle areas have been created to bring the Dickson County Civil Rights experience to visitors. First and foremost, the exhibit will share the evolution of education for African Americans in Dickson County. The exhibit discusses the one-room school houses that were spread across the county and eventually led to the founding of Hampton High School with its strong history of excellence. Panels will showcase the scholars, students who graduated as valedictorian and salutatorian from 1936 until integration in 1965. View memorabilia bringing the exhibited school life of Hampton High into the present.

On the second floor of the Museum, trace Governor Clement’s high school, college ,and early career in law, the FBI, and politics. Follow his campaigns in the 1952, 1954, and 1962 gubernatorial elections. Learn about his many accomplishments, including the desegregation of Tennessee, free text books for public school children, the establishment of the first Department of Mental Health, and expansion of roads and the Interstate system through Tennessee. Clement is one of the most accomplished and prolific leaders in the history of the Volunteer State and his accomplishments and legacy are on full display throughout our site.