Managed by The Bedford County Arts Council, The Fly Arts Center houses The Fly Community Theatre, the McGrew Reception Hall, the Bedford County History Museum and The Fly Art Gallery.

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Our Mission

The Bedford County Arts Council seeks to encourage, promote, foster, sponsor and develop the cultural arts in Bedford County and surrounding areas for the benefit of the general public.

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The Fly Arts Center strives to reach out to the Bedford County community in order to educated and engage its members in creative art-making, to encourage community members to participate in art related activities, and to enrich our town through meaningful, inclusive, art experiences, in order to help create a community that recognizes and appreciates the value of visual and theatrical arts.

The goal of the art center is to have our participants learn the skills, techniques, and methods necessary to create unique pieces that will expand and enrich their lives and foster a greater appreciation of the visual arts, as well as to facilitate social interaction, mutual support and friendship among our members. The Bedford County Arts Council hopes to provide a sanctuary here at The Fly Arts Center where people can come and capture their passion for the arts.

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The Bedford County Arts Council Board
President - Sue Thelen

Vice President - Debbie Atterholt
2nd Vice President - Amy Jo Krise

Treasurer - Linda Wyant

Secretary - Kris Lord

Gallery Committee Co-Chairs - Judy Williams/Santha Koonce

Literary Arts Committee Chair - Sherri Frame

Museum Chair - Gene Williams

Building and Grounds Chair - Calvin Cannon
Board Member - Jim Sepull

Board Member - Cliff Hirst

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History of The Fly Building

During the year 1914, Mr. Joel Orvel Fly moved his family from Clarksville, TN to Shelbyville, TN. By February of the following year, and through the efforts of the Shelbyville Commercial Club, an organization was established by local citizens to promote economic growth for the town. Mr. Fly established the Fly Manufacturing Company of Shelbyville with the help of his father-in-law and Mr. Oliver "O. D." Edwards (1890-1955), who had come from Clarksville to help set up the Kirkpatrick's Livery Stable, located next door to the produce house of Jean & Tune. The exact site today is on the northeast corner of Depot and Jefferson Street across the street from the First Baptist Church.
 
With the employment of eighteen to twenty people, the factory began its production of overalls, pants and work shirts on February 15, 1915. The overall factory became very successful and soon began to outgrow its working quarters. By April of 1916, the demand for more and larger working space was met through an agreement with Mr. Ray B. Jean. Mr. Jean owned the lot adjoining the Shelbyville Savings Bank, located just off the square on Depot Street . He purchased the old pre-Civil War bank building and lot, therefore expanding the property to accommodate construction of a new building.
 
The new building would house two businesses on the first floor, while the second floor would be occupied by the Fly Manufacturing Company. Less than a month before the completion and occupancy of the new building the misfortune of a fire consumed the overall factory in its old location adjacent to the Kirkpatrick Livery Stable.
 
For almost twelve years, the Fly Manufacturing Company in its second floor Depot Street location produced several thousand pair of overalls and wearing apparel. Once again outgrowing its location, plans for a larger factory were in the making. On November 12, 1925, Mr. Fly purchased a lot on South Main Street. H.B. Cowan & Co. Insurance and Real Estate Agency sold the property of Mr. R. P. McGill to Mr. Fly for $5,000.00.
 
In May 1926, construction began on the new Fly Manufacturing Company building on South Main Street. The building contract was awarded to Col. Morgan Raney and estimated at a cost of $40,000. The new building was then one of the largest in Bedford County. Having two stories and a full basement, it was equipped with every modern convenience.
 
By early August, 1927 the new building was completed. Mr. M. Charlie Hummel placed the cornerstone in the center, near the top of the building identifying the construction date of 1927. During the third week of that month all the office furniture and factory equipment and machinery were moved from the building on Depot Street to the new structure on South Main Street.
 
The following year Mr. Fly hired seventy-five employees to operate his shirt manufacturing department. In addition to selling finished goods to large corporations such as Sears-Roebuck and Montgomery-Ward, Fly also sold his products to local stores. The diversity of contracts enabled Fly to employ workers from Shelbyville and neighboring communities throughout the Great Depression. In order to prevent the exodus of employees to other towns in search of work, Fly rotated work schedules to provide all employees with at least two to three days of work per week. During World War II Fly obtained a contract to produce pants, jackets and fatigues for the U.S. Army.

After the war, the Fly Manufacturing Company continued to thrive as an independent textile manufacturer until Fly's death in 1960. In 1972, in the face of an increasingly competitive apparel market, the company was sold to Bayly Corporation, a Denver-based garment manufacturer, and transformed into a southeastern distribution center. Eight years later, a stockholding dispute within Bayly led to the sale of the plant to Woodway Corporation and the resumption of garment production in the historic building. In 1985, following a severe decline in business, Woodway Corporation ceased operations in the Fly Manufacturing Company Building.

After a decade of neglect, the historic building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a significant part of Shelbyville's industrial heritage. The Bedford County Arts Council restored the building for use as a cultural arts center in 1992.

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The Bedford County Arts Council was founded in 1976 by Carol Price when she began teaching at the Webb School as a Tennessee Arts Commisiion (TAC) artist-in-residence. Her community art involvement was to start The Bedford County Arts Council, and she served as the first president.

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