At the February meeting, Brittany Davis helped Tazewell commemorate Black History Month with her special presentation on Tazewell’s oldest resident. Jane Fudge was born into slavery in the 1820’s and was considered to be the property of Hezekiah Harman, who later gifted her to his daughter, Nancy Fudge. Her obituary stated that she lived within 100-yards of the Tazewell Train Station her entire life but had never boarded a train, only riding in a car once. Jane died in August of 1931 at 102 years of age, as the oldest resident of Tazewell. During those years, birth records were not documented consistently, and for slaves, sometimes not at all, further complicated by the practices regarding slave surname assignments by various slaveholders. Jane’s relatives strongly felt she may have in fact been even older than 102, making Jane’s story and reported excellent health at over a century in age even more impressive!

Town Council also voted to commit their support to the Tazewell Community Foundation’s newest project that will see Tazewell as the home of a new medical clinic, providing residents with expanded access to local primary care providers. Chris Wearmouth, who serves as Chairperson for the Tazewell Community Foundation, presented their completed feasibility and economic impact study that clearly demonstrates the need for this expanded access.

Town Council also showed its strong community support by donating funds in support of the CART Creative Community Partnership Grant, to Tazewell High School’s Project Graduation and Prom, and to Diamond Dawgs Baseball. Additionally, they gave the approval needed for serving alcoholic beverages at the Tazewell County Chamber of Commerce’s Oktobrewfest event set for October 5, 2024.

Full video of the Town Council meeting: