Edna Lynn Simms’ original photo caption accompanying her
portrait of him reads simply: “George D. Barnes, collector of
Indian relics, Dayton, Tenn.” Sounds straightforward enough. But
it leaves out the shadings about what KIND of collector — how
the man was viewed ethically in the world of archaeologists,
collectors, museums, and relic hunters. Collectors of all eras
often skirt the edges of the legitimate in their single-minded
pursuit of building their collections. Barnes had his admirers,
and he had his detractors on that topic. The University of
Tennessee Special Collections Library in Knoxville, TN houses
one of Barnes’ collections: the Barnes Collection of Rhea
County, which contains marriage bonds, legal documents, and
signatures of prominent Tennesseans and North Carolinians
documenting the history of Rhea County from 1785 to 1891. Their
website tells us: “George D. Barnes was born in about 1879 in
Pennsylvania. His father collected Native American artifacts,
and Barnes began accompanying him on his e