Nashville, TN – Spend Juneteenth at Nashville Zoo and learn about the individuals that were vital to the success of the Grassmere property on a Black history tour. Free tours will be offered each hour from 10:00am to 4:00pm and will meet at the Grassmere Historic Home.
On the tour, guests will have the opportunity to learn about the history of the Zoo’s property in relation to Black history. Visitors can also stop by the Zoo’s award-winning Morton Family Exhibit to read about the lives of the Morton family who lived and worked at Grassmere for decades.
Before the Grassmere property was managed by the Zoo in the mid-90s, it was actually a family home and farm. From an original land grant in 1786 to today, many people have inhabited this site, including enslaved individuals and Black tenant farmers.
In the early 1900s, Frank Morton and his family came to the Grassmere property to live and work as tenant farmers until 1973 which were crucial to the success of Grassmere.
The Morton Family Exhibit, which has now been open for 2 years, is located in the cabin where Frank Morton and his family lived, near the Grassmere Historic Home. The exhibit showcases the importance of the Morton family’s legacy and examines their relationship with white landowners Margaret and Elise Croft.
The exhibit fosters thoughtful, transparent, and respectful consideration of and conversation about our incredibly difficult shared history. The multi-award-winning exhibit is the result of years of research and collaboration with Frank Morton’s descendants. The opening ceremony was held on Juneteenth in 2021 (June 19th, 2021) with more than 100 of Frank Morton’s descendants in attendance.
For more info on the Morton Family Exhibit, visit www.nashvillezoo.org.
About Nashville Zoo
Nashville Zoo is a nonprofit organization celebrating 25 years at Grassmere. The Zoo is an accredited member of the Associations of Zoos and Aquariums, exemplifying the highest standards of animal care and husbandry. Nashville Zoo is actively engaged in conservation research, habitat protection, breeding programs, and education initiatives in our backyard as well as around the world.
With support from the Nashville community, donors, and sponsors, the Zoo is ranked the number one tourist attraction in Middle Tennessee and welcomes more than one million guests annually. Nashville Zoo is located at 3777 Nolensville Pike just six miles south of downtown.
For more information about Nashville Zoo, visit nashvillezoo.org.
