Are you longing for an old-fashioned Fourth of July parade? Thanks to photographic archives preserved by Tennessee’s libraries, you can revisit parades from the turn of the 20^th century, when the horse and buggy far outnumbered the motor car.

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The above photos are publicly available through the Digital Library of Tennessee, a searchable online collection of documents and images from libraries and archives across the state. The UT Libraries played an important role in several collaborative digitization projects — such as the Digital Library of Tennessee, Volunteer Voices, and Tennessee Documentary History — that make our state’s rich cultural heritage available to a global audience.

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The arrival of the automobile clearly did not stifle the creativity of parade participants:

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For more historical images of Tennessee, visit UT Libraries’ digital collections, including Images of East Tennessee and Volunteer Voices.

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Sources:

• Fourth of July parade, Athens, Tenn., 1911 (?). Looking Back at Tennessee Photograph Collection, 1890-1981. ID# 10584. Courtesy Tennessee State Library and Archives.
• Fourth of July parade, Dyersburg, Tenn., 1899. Looking Back at Tennessee Photograph Collection, 1890-1981. ID# 7325. Courtesy Tennessee State Library and Archives.
• An old woman in a shoe float in the parade at Bemis, Tenn., 1900. Volunteer Voices. ID# 2504. Contributing institution: Union University (Jackson, Tenn.).
• A mule-drawn float in the parade at Bemis, Tenn., 1900. Volunteer Voices. ID# 2505. Contributing institution: Union University (Jackson, Tenn.).
• Fourth of July parade, Tracy City, Tenn., 1909. Looking Back at Tennessee Photograph Collection, 1890-1981. ID# 7484. Courtesy Tennessee State Library and Archives.
• Summer School of the South, Fourth of July, Knoxville, Tenn., 1902. University of Tennessee Photograph and Slide Collection, AR.0018. Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives.
• Car decorated for the Fourth of July parade, 1923. Looking Back at Tennessee Photograph Collection, 1890-1981. ID# 9715. Courtesy Tennessee State Library and Archives.
• Prize-winning automobile in the Fourth of July parade, Loudon, Tenn., 1925. Looking Back at Tennessee Photograph Collection, 1890-1981. ID# 9719. Courtesy Tennessee State Library and Archives.