“A Country Divided: Photos from the Civil War” premieres at Discovery Park’s Military History and Armed Forces Symposium on April 29, 2022 and will be on display at the museum through May 25, 2022.

Designed by Discovery Park’s collections and exhibits team featuring items from the collection of Jason Pate, it consists of several early photography examples depicting soldiers that either lived in or traveled through Obion County and the surrounding Tennessee/Kentucky region during the Civil War. Guests will learn of the main photography mediums used during this time (ambrotypes, tintypes, and carte de visite) and of the soldiers’ stories that have survived along with their 160-year-old photographic counterparts on display.

Jason Pate, an award-winning educator currently employed with Obion County Schools, is an avid collector and “caretaker” of Civil War history. Using his nationally published collection, Pate has told, and brought to life, the stories of hundreds of Civil War soldiers from both sides of the war. He also serves his community as the youth pastor at Woodland Mills First Baptist Church.