David Crockett Commemorative Bust Unveiling December 6

By Darlene Schlicher, Senate Republican Press Secretary, Tennessee State Government –

A bust of legendary Tennessean David Crockett will be unveiled on Tuesday led by Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville) and former House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick (R-Chattanooga) who sponsored Senate Joint Resolution 505 in 2014 to place it on the second floor of the State Capitol Building. The event will take place at 1:30 P.M. CST outside the House of Representatives Chamber. The public is invited to attend.

The lawmakers will be joined by members of the Tennessee Arts Commission, the Tennessee State Museum and the Office of the State Architect on behalf of the State Capitol Commission. The artist, Antonio Mendez, will also attend. Mendez has been a working sculptor for over 30 years. Among many others, his works include: the Mohandas Gandhi Memorial in Long Island, NY; President Theodore Roosevelt for the National Park Service, Buffalo, NY; Hall of Fame Red Sox player Carl Yastrzemski for Fenway Park in Boston, MA; a bronze portrait of Sidney Kimmel for the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, PA; and a sculpture of Danny Thomas for Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.

David Crockett (1786 — 1836)

Tennessee hero David Crockett was born in Limestone, Greene County. He was a farmer, frontiersman, sharpshooter, lieutenant, town commissioner, writer and legislator. In 1794, when Crockett was eight, his father opened a tavern in Morristown. In 1811 he moved to Middle Tennessee. In 1813, he volunteered to fight in the Creek Indian War. From 1817 to 1820, Crockett served as a magistrate for Lawrence County. He entered the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1821, representing Lawrence and Hickman counties. He was re-elected in 1823, but defeated in 1825. At that time Murfreesboro was the provisional capitol of Tennessee. In 1827 Crockett was elected to the United States House of Representatives, representing West Tennessee. He won a second term in 1829 and served until 1831. He lost that election after vehemently opposing Andrew Jackson’s policies regarding land reform and the Indian Removal bill. Crockett was re-elected in 1833, but defeated in 1835. It was at this point that the Tennessee icon moved to Texas, ultimately dying at the Alamo during the fight for independence from Mexico.

Information on Crockett is also contained in Senate Joint Resolution 505.