Cookeville History Museum
Open Tuesday – Saturday
10:00 am till 4:00 pm
Free Admission
About
Cookeville History Museum
The museum houses a self-paced, permanent exhibit on the history of this community, including a timeline around the building that begins with the first people to the area and ends with what is happening today. The front gallery is dedicated to local history exhibits, traveling exhibits and collection displays. We are part of the City of Cookeville’s Department of Leisure Services and Public Facilities, Historical Arts Division. Visit the Cookeville History Museum and let us share our story with you.
Current Exhibit
What Is Happening At The Museum
๐กFUN(?) FACT FRIDAY๐ก
One of the most common questions we get at the Depot museum is "Why can't we flush the toilet if there's a train outside?" due to this sign hanging in the bathroom. Truth is, the sign is an artifact that we find amusing, but it also tells a historic tale about bathrooms on trains!
In the 1920s, train toilets didnโt collect wasteโthey just let it fall.
Known as "hopper toilets," these systems were essentially open pipes leading straight to the tracks. When a passenger flushed, a foot pedal opened a flap, and gravity did the rest.
To keep stations and cities from becoming public health hazards, railroads enforced strict rules:
โข Passenger reminders: signs like the one displayed here were posted in every lavatory, imploring passengers to help keep tracks clean.
โข Locked doors: conductors locked restroom doors before entering major cities, stations or public watersheds, unlocking them only after the train was up to speed in the countryside.
This primitive setup lasted much longer than you might think! Driven by environmental regulations, American railroads finally phased out "open track" dumping in favor of sanitary retention tanks during the 1970s and 1980s.
One of the most common questions we get at the Depot museum is "Why can't we flush the toilet if there's a train outside?" due to this sign hanging in the bathroom. Truth is, the sign is an artifact that we find amusing, but it also tells a historic tale about bathrooms on trains!
In the 1920s, train toilets didnโt collect wasteโthey just let it fall.
Known as "hopper toilets," these systems were essentially open pipes leading straight to the tracks. When a passenger flushed, a foot pedal opened a flap, and gravity did the rest.
To keep stations and cities from becoming public health hazards, railroads enforced strict rules:
โข Passenger reminders: signs like the one displayed here were posted in every lavatory, imploring passengers to help keep tracks clean.
โข Locked doors: conductors locked restroom doors before entering major cities, stations or public watersheds, unlocking them only after the train was up to speed in the countryside.
This primitive setup lasted much longer than you might think! Driven by environmental regulations, American railroads finally phased out "open track" dumping in favor of sanitary retention tanks during the 1970s and 1980s.
We are continually blown away by the reception this beautiful mural has gotten from all of YOU! Here is a wonderful interview with Katie of Kts Art and Design--PLEASE SUPPORT LOCAL ART(ISTS)!
We also want to be sure everyone knows this project was made possible by Tennessee 250!
We also want to be sure everyone knows this project was made possible by Tennessee 250!
Thank you to everyone who joined us for Night at the Museums: Indoor Encore!
We hope you enjoyed this special indoor edition of one of our favorite events and left with a new appreciation for the people and moments that shaped our community and our nation.
A special thank you to our actors, volunteers, staff, and everyone who helped make this event possible. Your dedication brought history off the pages and onto the stage.
Thank you for being part of another memorable Night at the Museums. We look forward to sharing more opportunities to explore history together!
Production by Cookeville Leisure Services and Cookeville History Museum
We hope you enjoyed this special indoor edition of one of our favorite events and left with a new appreciation for the people and moments that shaped our community and our nation.
A special thank you to our actors, volunteers, staff, and everyone who helped make this event possible. Your dedication brought history off the pages and onto the stage.
Thank you for being part of another memorable Night at the Museums. We look forward to sharing more opportunities to explore history together!
Production by Cookeville Leisure Services and Cookeville History Museum
Take a piece of Cookeville history home with you. Postcards featuring the new mural painted by KT Design at the Cookeville History Museum are now available for purchase at both the Cookeville History Museum and the Cookeville Depot Museum. Stop by and pick one up on your next visit!
๐กFUN FACT FRIDAY๐ก
๐ JULY 17: HAPPY WORLD EMOJI DAY! ๐๐ฅณ๐
Step aside, hieroglyphics ๐๐! There is a new universal language in town! ๐๐ฃ๏ธโจ Today we celebrate the incredible history of how tiny digital icons ๐ฒ๐พ revolutionized human communication forever! ๐๐ฅ
๐ The Epic Timeline ๐โณ
1999: ๐ฏ๐ต Shigetaka Kurita creates the very first set of 176 emojis for pagers and mobile phones! ๐๐ฑโค๏ธ It was a pixelated masterpiece! ๐จ๐พ
2010: ๐ป Unicode officially adopts emojis, meaning they can now travel across all operating systems worldwide! ๐โ๏ธ๐ค
2014: ๐ Jeremy Burge creates World Emoji Day! Why July 17th? Because thatโs the date shown on the iconic calendar emoji! ๐๐๏ธ๐
2015: ๐ The "Face with Tears of Joy" makes literal history by becoming the Oxford Dictionaryโs Word of the Year! ๐๐๐คฏ
๐ Fun Emoji Facts ๐ง ๐ก
๐ Over 10 BILLION emojis are sent every single day! ๐ฌ๐ฅ
๐ The most used food emoji is pizza, while the โค๏ธ red heart dominates romance! ๐น๐ฉโโค๏ธโ๐จ
๐ธ There are now over 3,600+ official icons representing everything from tacos ๐ฎ to aliens ๐ฝ!
๐ฅ How Are You Celebrating Today? ๐ค๐ญ Are you a classic laugh-crier ๐, a chaotic cowboy ๐ค or a dramatic sparkle-lover โจ? Drop your top 3 most frequently used emojis in the comments below! ๐๐ฃ๏ธ๐ Let's break the internet with color! ๐ฅ๐๐ฅ
#WorldEmojiDay #HistoryOfEmoji #DigitalAge #Throwback #Communication #FunFactFriday #EmojiHistory ๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฅณ๐ถ๏ธ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐๐ธ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐ณ๏ธ๐งฟ๐ช ๐๐ธ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฆพ๐คณ๐ผ๐ค ๐ค๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ซต๐ผ๐ซจ๐คฉโค๏ธ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐คฉ๐๐ผ๐พ๐ฉ๐๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
๐ JULY 17: HAPPY WORLD EMOJI DAY! ๐๐ฅณ๐
Step aside, hieroglyphics ๐๐! There is a new universal language in town! ๐๐ฃ๏ธโจ Today we celebrate the incredible history of how tiny digital icons ๐ฒ๐พ revolutionized human communication forever! ๐๐ฅ
๐ The Epic Timeline ๐โณ
1999: ๐ฏ๐ต Shigetaka Kurita creates the very first set of 176 emojis for pagers and mobile phones! ๐๐ฑโค๏ธ It was a pixelated masterpiece! ๐จ๐พ
2010: ๐ป Unicode officially adopts emojis, meaning they can now travel across all operating systems worldwide! ๐โ๏ธ๐ค
2014: ๐ Jeremy Burge creates World Emoji Day! Why July 17th? Because thatโs the date shown on the iconic calendar emoji! ๐๐๏ธ๐
2015: ๐ The "Face with Tears of Joy" makes literal history by becoming the Oxford Dictionaryโs Word of the Year! ๐๐๐คฏ
๐ Fun Emoji Facts ๐ง ๐ก
๐ Over 10 BILLION emojis are sent every single day! ๐ฌ๐ฅ
๐ The most used food emoji is pizza, while the โค๏ธ red heart dominates romance! ๐น๐ฉโโค๏ธโ๐จ
๐ธ There are now over 3,600+ official icons representing everything from tacos ๐ฎ to aliens ๐ฝ!
๐ฅ How Are You Celebrating Today? ๐ค๐ญ Are you a classic laugh-crier ๐, a chaotic cowboy ๐ค or a dramatic sparkle-lover โจ? Drop your top 3 most frequently used emojis in the comments below! ๐๐ฃ๏ธ๐ Let's break the internet with color! ๐ฅ๐๐ฅ
#WorldEmojiDay #HistoryOfEmoji #DigitalAge #Throwback #Communication #FunFactFriday #EmojiHistory ๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฅณ๐ถ๏ธ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐๐ธ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐ณ๏ธ๐งฟ๐ช ๐๐ธ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฆพ๐คณ๐ผ๐ค ๐ค๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ซต๐ผ๐ซจ๐คฉโค๏ธ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐คฉ๐๐ผ๐พ๐ฉ๐๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
๐จSOLD OUT๐จ
Event Details
โข When: Saturday, July 18 at 2:00 PM
โข Where: Cookeville Performing Arts Center (CPAC)
โข Tickets: Only $10
https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/92541591/night-at-the-museumsindoor-encore-cookeville-cookeville-performing-arts-center
Event Details
โข When: Saturday, July 18 at 2:00 PM
โข Where: Cookeville Performing Arts Center (CPAC)
โข Tickets: Only $10
https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/92541591/night-at-the-museumsindoor-encore-cookeville-cookeville-performing-arts-center
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Cookeville Depot Museum
116 W. Broad Street
Cookeville, TN 38501
Tuesday – Saturday
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
