CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – After 30 years of promises and planning, and now with a $20 million grant from the state, the Wings of Liberty Museum is within sight of groundbreaking.
And the newly named Tennessee Wings of Liberty Museum will do more than showcase the history of Fort Campbell. As one organizer put it, “This is really going to be an educational facility masquerading as a military museum,” not unlike the Adventure Science Center in Nashville.
Three decades in the making
The museum was first proposed in the early 1990s, and since then the Fort Campbell Historical Foundation has raised about $26 million toward the total $76 million project, said Pete Kinney, chairman of the foundation board.
“We made good progress in the early to mid-90s, but then war started and the focus shifted to helping Army families,” Kinney told Clarksville Now.
During that time, they’ve gotten all the architectural and engineering work done, and they have a shovel-ready site. “We’re ready to pour concrete and throw up steel,” he said.
The money from Tennessee, he said, “gets us a heck of a lot closer than we were last year, and it makes our fundraising challenge easier since Tennessee leads the way.”
“Frankly, the leader of this is Curtis Johnson,” Kinney said, referring to the Deputy House Speaker Johnson of Clarksville. “He was the driving force.”
Johnson said Nashville Tourism did a study that anticipated about 350,000 visitors a year just for the museum.
“That’s a big deal not only for Montgomery County but for the area. It’s going to be a boon for the whole state,” Johnson told Clarksville Now.
State Sen. Bill Powers and Rep. Jason Hodges, both of Clarksville, also helped push for the state funds.
“I think it’s long overdue,” Powers said. “It will be the only military museum between Chicago and New Orleans.”
Some work is still in progress, including Army permitting, which could take eight to nine months, so Kinney expects construction to begin in about March 2023, with an opening by the spring of 2025.
“We think we can raise the funds by then,” he said. That may include $1 million each from the City of Clarksville and Montgomery County, as proposed in their budgets.
Civics education through Army history
This will be much more than a warehouse for military relics. Kinney said that with plans to hire qualified teachers and establish an instruction program, Wings of Liberty will be an education site focused on civics.
“Our intent is to create a civics education venue – that will be our core function,” he said.
They will present civics courses for children in grades K-12 using examples from the history of the 101st Airborne Division, 5th Special Forces Group and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
For example, Kinney cited equal protection under the law. In 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Arkansas, to keep the peace and protect nine Black children who were integrating schools. This was an enforcement of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.
Several times Fort Campbell soldiers have been sent to support equitable elections, such as in Panama, and to other countries to support democracy around the globe.
The program of instruction will be designed to support visits from public and private schools, homeschoolers, Scout groups and more.
About the museum
The most recent plans for the museum, shared with Clarksville Now, propose a 75,000-square-foot facility on a 35-acre site on Fort Campbell Boulevard at Tiny Town Road.
The museum will honor the history of the 101st, 5th Group and 160th, with a main exhibit hall, multi-use auditorium called Sky Hall, a gift shop, parade grounds and a memorial building.
A D-Day glider will be in the lobby, with 10 large aircraft on display outside and smaller aircraft and vehicles inside.
Pylons outside the building will honor various Fort Campbell troop missions.
Boosting north Clarksville
The facility will have its own entrance, so access to post won’t be required.
It could have a huge impact on the economy in north Clarksville, which has stagnated as other areas of the city have improved.
“This will be an economic shot in the arm,” Kinney said. “Curtis Johnson wants to do something for the people in north Clarksville.”
Kinney said similar museums in other cities have drawn hotels, restaurants, shops and convention centers nearby.
“If we build this, and this attraction brings a new crowd into north Clarksville,” he said, “there are some smart business owners that will want to catch up to us.”
For more information or to donate, go to the Tennessee Wings of Liberty Museum website, email foundation@fortcampbell.com or call 931-431-2617.