Retired Fire Chief Creates Museum of Rescued Artifacts
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To call retired Shelbyville Fire Chief Garland King a collector doesn’t even come close.
His collection of Shelbyville, Bedford County and family historical materials already fills up several buildings.
King has antique fire trucks, bicycles, gas pumps, cars, post office boxes, dentist chairs and tools. He’s got old bank records, pharmacy books and safes from almost every major Shelbyville business that either burned or moved. He displays perhaps the most complete collection of Tennessee license plates ever amassed and vintage Coke bottles with “Shelbyville” stamped on the thick glass from the town’s former bottling plant.
King, who retired in 1999 after 30 years as chief, opens the doors to his treasures for school groups, tourists, Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration visitors and anyone else who calls.
What was once called “urban renewal” – in this case controlled burning of buildings in flood-prone Shelbyville neighborhoods – kick-started King’s passion. As a young firefighter, he’d scour each house to be burned to make sure it was safe to set the fire, finding local memorabilia left behind. King has an index card for each of the 534 burned homes, with a black and white photograph and the home’s history.
“I’ve just enjoyed it and done it all my life,” King says. “Everything you see here is Bedford County history.”
To schedule a tour, call King at (931) 684-5304.
Story by Pamela Coyle
Photo by Jeffrey Otto
