Rippa Villa Receives $87,025 Grant to Restore Historic Slave Cabin

Issue #845

October 26, 2026

In this What’s Up Columbia issue…

☁️ Columbia’s Tuesday Weather - Cloudy w/ high of 75, low of 43

📰 Rippa Villa Receives $87,025 Grant to Restore Historic Slave Cabin

🚒 Combine Fire Triggers Large Explosion on Mt. Joy Road

🗓 List of Upcoming Events 🎃 Sooo many trunk or treats! 🎃

🎵 This Week’s Live Music

🗓 Know of Some Local Events Not Listed? Send us the Details!

Rippa Villa Receives $87,025 Grant to Restore Historic Slave Cabin

Rippa Villa, owned by the City of Spring Hill and managed by The Battle of Franklin Trust, has been awarded $87,025 in grant funding for the restoration of the slave cabin on the Rippa Villa property. This grant comes courtesy of the Tennessee State Museum.

Rippa Villa also received a $100,000 grant for this project from the State of Tennessee last October. That money was put toward stabilizing the foundation for the cabin.

This new funding will cover the next steps of restoration, including interior work, to allow for appropriate interpretation and access for guests and staff.

The cabin is the only one of its kind left on the property. The Battle of Franklin Trust believes as many as 15 cabins once stood at Rippa Villa, a plantation built using the labor of enslaved people. After the Civil War, a small Black community known as Cheairs Quarters lived on the land into the 20th century, according to the American Battlefield Trust.

Along with the foundation work, last year’s state funding also paid to rebuild the cabin’s chimney and fireplace and add new limestone steps.

The Franklin Trust says the focus now shifts to the cabin’s wood elements. Once that work is complete, staff and visitors will be able to safely step inside the cabin as part of tours about slavery and the lives of enslaved people in Middle Tennessee.

See more photos of the cabin at the City of Spring Hill’s post here.

Combine Fire Triggers Large Explosion on Mt. Joy Road

From Maury County Fire Department’s post…  

On Wednesday, 10/21 @ 11:12am, units were dispatched to Mt Joy Rd for a combine fire. Responding units: Engines 21 & 22, Tankers 22 & 32, Brush 21 & 23, and District 22. 

Units arrived to find a combine approximately 40% involved. A large explosion occurred just after arrival which completely consumed the combine in fire. Several smaller explosions occurred shortly after as the tires blew. The combine and corn field were extinguished and units operated for over an hour overhauling the machinery. No injuries were reported.

Upcoming Local Events

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Tuesday, October 27th

Wednesday, October 28th

Thursday, October 29th

Friday, October 30th

Saturday, October 31st

Sunday, November 1st

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🎵 This Week’s Live Music

Tuesday, October 27
Songwriters Round - Whiskey Alley Saloon, 6-9 PM

Thursday, October 29
Todd Ciprian - Tito’s, 6-9 PM
Hit Songwriter Show - The Mulehouse, 7:30 PM
Britt Clark - Whiskey Alley Saloon, 7:30-9 PM

Friday, October 30
Lewis Stubbs Junior - Buck & Board, 6-8 PM
Open Mic Night - Grinder’s Switch Winery, 6-9 PM
Stevierock - Acapulco Mexican Grill, 6:30-8:30 PM
Tommy Wheatley - Whiskey Alley Saloon, 7:30-9 PM
Jami Grooms - Puckett’s, 7:30-9 PM
McCartney Forever - The Mulehouse, 8 PM
Grace West Band - Fozzy’s Bar & Grill, 8-11 PM

Saturday, October 31
Ben Daniel - Amber Falls Winery & Cellars, 3-7 PM
Curated Writers Round - The Bourbon Gospel, 7:30 PM
Cam Shelton - The Rebel Bar & Grill, 7:30 PM

Sunday, November 1
Nkahootz - Amber Falls Winery & Cellars, 3-7 PM

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