Hi! My name is Cassandra Bennett. I am fairly new to Durham and the Triangle but am ravenously learning everything I can. After finishing my graduate coursework and thesis, I moved to the Triangle to join my fiancé in December 2013 and in January, I joined Preservation Chapel Hill as the non-profit’s Program Coordinator. In my free time, I…
I have worked in many settings, including non-profits, museums, archives, city government, and university departments/offices, where I gained experience managing programs, working with the public, conducting architectural surveys, developing and maintaining websites, and preparing heritage development plans. These include: MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, Murfreesboro, TN MTSU Public History Department, Murfreesboro, TN McKenzie (TN) Historic Zoning…
My thesis, Behind the Scenes: Corporations, the Moviegoing Experience, and the Preservation of Tennessee’s Small-Town Theaters, will be finished in December. It fulfills a portion of my M.A. degree. My archival research is based on two collections and historic newspapers at the Tennessee State Library and Archive. The Crescent Amusement Company’s legal records are in…
I have worked on three heritage development and assessment plans. The Park Theatre HDP arose out of a National Register nomination while I assisted in developing a similar report for the Gem Theatre in McMinn County, Tennessee. A fellow Center for Historic Preservation assistant and I developed a needs and recommendation report for Rowan Museum, Inc. in…
As part of a Summer 2011 internship with the McKenzie (TN) Historical Commission and the Southwest Tennessee Development District, I conducted an architectural survey of the McKenzie downtown. Below are two examples of the 52 architectural descriptions I wrote.
Since Fall 2011, I have worked with the Tennessee Century Farms Program but since June 2013, I have served as the program’s interim director. The program is administered by the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. I have helped guide farm families through the application process, certified applications, and drafted…
I have conducted and transcribed numerous oral history interviews since 2008. My first experience was with transcribing two oral histories as a class project; this lead to transcribing oral histories for the African American Museum in Dallas, Texas. In 2011, I conducted six interviews for the Stone Fort Museum while developing the Cornerstones of the Community:…
Teaching with Primary Sources – MTSU Since June 2013, I have worked with Teaching with Primary Sources – MTSU, a partnership with the Library of Congress. In this time, I have worked on website updates, lesson ideas, a links guide, and a primary source set. While working on website updates, I updated approximately 150 Teaching with Primary Sources–MTSU…
In the fall of 2011, the City of McKenzie asked the Center for Historic Preservation to assist them in nominating the Park Theatre (1941) to the National Register of Historic Places. Below is the nomination I wrote under the guidance of Elizabeth Humphreys at the CHP.
While working for and managing the Tennessee Century Farms Program, I have published numerous press releases and have been interviewed by the media. Below are examples of some of the Fall 2013 press releases.
While a graduate research assistant at the Center for Historic Preservation, MTSU, I have worked on numerous websites. Most extensively, I have maintained and updated the Tennessee Century Farms Program website. I also made updates to the Rogans of Sumner County, TN & County Tyrone, Northern Ireland website. Finally, I designed and built the Tennessee African American Resource Guide website; it…
As part of my thesis on Tennessee’s small-town theaters, I have selected several case studies. Below is a presentation of some of my findings.
Since the fall 2011, I have researched small-town movie theaters in the Southeast. In my research, I discovered the William Waller Collection at the Tennessee State Library and Archive. This collection contained the records of the Crescent Amusement Company and its subsidiaries. Most important to my research on small-town theaters are the 137 reports written…
Cassandra Bennett's Portfolio 