The process of placing a statue of David Crockett, perhaps Greene County’s most famous native son, on the grounds of the Tennessee State Capitol is moving ahead.
State Rep. David Hawk said that the idea of having a statue of David Crockett at the capitol has been discussed for 15 years, and a formal commission has been working the project for 12 years. However, in 2024 about $1 million in state funding was finally allocated to the project through the governor’s office.
Jamie Lester, an artist from West Virginia with experience creating statues of historical figures, was chosen out of over two dozen artists to create the statue of David Crockett.
A 10-foot clay maquette, or model, of the statue can now be found in Lester’s workshop in Morgantown, WV. The model was viewed by members of the statue commission in late December. The statue has gone from an 18-inch printed model, to a 3-foot scale clay model, and now to a full-size 10-foot model.
The statue shows Crockett, at around the age of 30 and wearing the clothes of a frontiersman, standing on a rock with a rifle in one hand and his well-known coonskin cap in the other. He is flanked by two hunting dogs.
Hawk said that working on the statue project has been one of the projects he has enjoyed the most during his time in the legislature. He said the statue will help Tennessee reclaim the story of Crockett from Texas, a story that began in Limestone along the banks of the Nolichucky River in Greene County.
The fine details of the statue are still being adjusted, but Hawk said that he expects the final bronze statue to be placed at the capitol by the end of 2026.
The statue will be placed above the Motlow Pedestrian Tunnel off MLK Jr. Boulevard on the south side of the capitol, which Hawk said is one of the two main entrances to the capitol. It is also where school children and tour groups often enter the state capitol building. The statue’s placement will coincide with the renovation of the War Memorial building and Legislative Plaza near the capitol, which Hawk noted remains on schedule. He said that statue will be a prominent, permanent addition to the capitol grounds that he hopes stands for hundreds of years.
Crockett served in the Tennessee General Assembly in the early 1820s before becoming a member of the United States House of Representatives.
Hawk noted that the statue reflects the “larger than life vision” that he had envisioned for the project when the process began. He noted that the artist, Lester, is now able to make small adjustments to the statue at its final size, such as adding an extra strap to powder horn on the statue.
Hawk said that the slight changes to the full-scale statue have made it appear more vivid and real.
“You can almost see the wind blowing as Crockett holds his coonskin cap and his fingers appear immersed into the cap itself,” Hawk said. “The evolution of the statue itself has really become more lifelike.”
Hawk and others in the legislature have worked alongside officials with the Tennessee Capitol Commission, the Tennessee Arts Commission, the Tennessee State Architect, and the Tennessee State Museum to make the statue come to life in a historically accurate manner.
