Gordon Browning Reopens Following Major Renovations

McKENZIE (April 26) — Following eight months of renovations, the Gordon Browning Museum and Genealogical Library has opened its doors to the community once again. The Carroll County Historical Society hosted a ribbon-cutting for the museum Sunday, April 26, to celebrate the museum’s re-opening with the community.

When Jennifer Waldrup and Vickie Summers joined the Carroll County Historical Society’s Board of Directors in 2025, the women knew something had to be done to improve the museum.

“It was a nightmare,” Waldrup said.

“You couldn’t hardly walk through the museum,” Summers said. “There was just so much stuff everywhere… If someone came in with a walker or a wheelchair, there was no way they could go any further than about six feet.”

On the advice of the State Museum advisors, the Carroll County Historical Society made the decision to temporarily close the museum for deep-cleaning, sorting, rearranging and refurbishing.

In the first month, Summers applied for and received a $21,100 grant from the Tennessee State Museum to make extensive repairs to the 91-year-old building’s roof and electrical system.

It took the women approximately three months to take inventory of all of their items and begin cleaning out the museum, discarding various broken items.

The renovation involved repainting and “moving everything, not one time, but probably six times,” according to Waldrup. Books, especially, were moved up to five times each during the reorganization process.

Summers and Waldrup went through and cleaned all of the museum’s 65-70 military uniforms, clearing off the dust and storing them in portable closets. They plan to rotate all of the different uniforms in their collection as museum displays.

Various private individuals and community groups including Beta Sigma Phi, the McKenzie Senior Citizen’s Center and the McKenzie Garden Club donated to the renovation project.

Board member Hunter Smith helped with the renovation, repainting rooms with Waldrup and redoing the floors.

The McKenzie Police Department cleaned the display guns, and Bill Westerfield, who owns Sunrise Cafe, built the gun display case. David Earley’s welding class at TCAT-McKenzie made the building’s exterior rails. Waldrup also extended her thanks to Marty and Amanda Morris and Dale Garrett for their help on the project.

“It has been a labor of love requiring much help and cooperation with many challenges along the way,” Summers said. “The effort was worth it, and it has finally come to fruition.”

The new and improved Gordon Browning Museum is now Title VI compliant, making it accessible and easy to navigate for everyone. It has a plethora of walking space and includes a sitting area central to the main museum room. The library is orderly and user-friendly with plenty of shelving, and there are several new work stations with access to electricity and Wifi. The museum also has a better security system in place.

There is also a new exhibit area reserved for changing quarterly displays.

The ladies moved all of the war memorabilia to the back of the museum, and all of the genealogy resources and records books are now located in one primary space.

“Much thought was invested in where and how to place what, for best utilization in service provided within for the community,” Summers said.

On Sunday, Summers shared that she and Waldrup shared only one regret: not taking before-and-after photos.

With the renovation, Summers and Waldrup share the hope that local teachers will begin bringing their classes in for museum tours once again.

“There are a hundred reasons to visit the Gordon Browning Museum,” Summers said, “There’s stuff about the county. There’s stuff about each town. We have things about the state. There’s information about the government. There’s just a plethora of information that anybody can come and enjoy, whether they’re a genealogist or not. Our little museum is truly a small-town jewel.

The Gordon Browning Museum and Genealogical Library, located at 640 N. Main St., McKenzie, Tenn., is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Gordon Browning Museum, named in honor of two-time Tennessee Governor Gordon Browning, is a publicly-supported museum and the home to hundreds of documents, images and artifacts representing Carroll County’s rich history. Its historical building, built in 1935 by the New Deal’s Works Progress Administration (WPA), is the former location of the McKenzie Post Office.

The Carroll County Historical Society’s Board of Directors are as follows: Joel Summers, president; Jennifer Waldrup, vice president; Vickie Summers, secretary/treasurer; Brad Camp, director; Nola Hobbs, director; Jack Holland, director; Steve Milam, director; Ben Rollins, director; Hunter Smith, director; Jimmie Sue Staten, director; and Steve Williams, director.