Congratulations are in order to the Claiborne County Historical and Genealogical Society because it now holds the deed to the historical Old Jail located in Tazewell located on what was once a back street of the town of Tazewell but now is Highway 33.

The Old Jail next to Century Bank sits unoccupied and in bad need of renovation and repair.

The announcement came by Patricia Brooks, President of the CCHGS at the July meeting of the Society and she and the Society would like to express their thanks to County Mayor Virgil Harrell and the county commissioners who worked to see that the Old Jail would be saved for future generations of Claiborne County residents and non-residents to learn more of the County's historic past. This news comes almost in perfect unison with the opening of the newest of Claiborne County's facilities, the new Jail and Detention Center located on Straight Creek Road.

From Goodspeed's History of Claiborne County - "The first jail was completed at about the same time as the courthouse - 1804. It was used until 1819, when Josiah C. Ramsey, John Evans, William Graham, William Renfro, Robert Crockett, David Rogers and Reuben Rogers were appointed commissioners to erect a new jail. It was built with a double wall, the outside being rock and the inside frame."

The Claiborne County Historical and Genealogical Society would ask that all concerned readers please help in the restoration efforts that will soon be underway lead by the CCHGS. This can be by individual donations to the Old Jail Project specifically or by joining the Society and contributing with your attendance and ideas of how this and other projects concerning preservation of County historical landmarks can be accomplished. Funding and support of these efforts are of utmost importance.

You can send your contributions to the CCHGS, P.O Box 32, Tazewell, Tennessee 37879 and look for our booth at the upcoming Claiborne County Fair in August .

The annual dues of the Society are $12.50 for single, $15 for family and $1 for students. Prospective members should visit the website http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnccths/ for more membership information.

A monument was dedicated to an Oak tree, believed to be 350-400 years old in the Hopper Cemetery in the Leatherwood Community on Saturday, July 12th, 2003.

The Claiborne County Historical and Genealogical Society dedicated the monument and declared the Oak tree a Historical Landmark. The purpose of the Society is to collaborate with Claiborne County residents as well as local, state, and federal organizations to preserve county history in all forms.

Joyce Ramsey, the society's president, said the motto of the society is "We are products of our Past." She went on to say they were pleased to recognize the magnificent old Oak tree and that it was the oldest thing they had been asked to acknowledge.

A brief history of the cemetery was presented and the veterans buried in the cemetery were recognized. Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War Veterans are all buried in the cemetery.