History of the Historical Society

The Nelson County Historical Society was organized in the early 1970s prior to its official registration with the State Corporation Commission in 1975. Under the leadership of Lou Southard and Catherine Seaman, society members and volunteers researched and wrote articles and books and created research files to cover many areas of Nelson County history.  Jean and Julian Hesson were tasked with organizing and cataloging the records and making them accessible in the Nelson Memorial Library. In the spring of 1989, the Society organized its first historic homes tour featuring properties in the county with historical significance. These historic homes tours continue today on a biannual schedule.

Another important milestone for the Historical Society was the opening of Oak Ridge mansion. In 1991, Oak Ridge, the 5000-acre estate of financier Thomas Fortune Ryan (1851-1928), was opened to the public for the first time. The Holland family had recently renovated the mansion and the Nelson County Historical Society sponsored the initial opening tour. This successful two-day event resulted in increased publicity and funding for the Society.

In 2003, several people interested in preserving the county’s history came together to create a museum for the county. A board was organized to find a location, generate interest, and develop a museum. When Oakland, the Goodwin-Coco property on Rt. 29 near Colleen, became available that year, the museum board decided this was a suitable place.

The Historical Society got involved when it became apparent that purchasing the property needed financial support from a well-established organization.The two groups—the museum board and the Historical Society—together made the decision to purchase the Oakland property that included an 1838 house and 11 acres with the Historical Society being the owners. In 2004, fundraising began in earnest to pay off the $275,000 purchase price for the property. The Oakland Board was tasked with managing and developing the Oakland tavern as a museum. In 2014, the decision was made to merge the two organizations into one since they had similar missions. The Oakland Board was disbanded and the Nelson County Historical Society took over operation of Oakland Museum as the sole leadership group.For over 20 years, Oakland Museum has been the site of many programs and exhibits on the history of the county. The earliest exhibit was on Rural Electrification, followed by the creation of the Camille Resource Center. Other exhibitions on topics such as Nelson County schools, Nelson County timeline, and Nelson County musicians came next—not to mention many smaller exhibitions throughout the museum. (Larger than) life-sized statues of two of Nelson’s famous sons, Earl Hamner, Jr., and Jimmy Fortune were installed on the grounds of Oakland Museum in 2023.