How a File Cabinet From the World Trade Center Site Came to the Tennessee State Museum

Sep 10, 2026

Alt Description: A heavily damaged metal filing cabinet drawer is displayed in a museum exhibit case. The light gray drawer is crushed inward along the front and right side, with deep dents, bent metal, and rust-stained scratches across the lower edge. Inside the drawer, numerous manila file folders and papers remain packed upright despite the damage. The drawer sits on a white display platform beneath protective glass. A museum label identifies it as a filing cabinet drawer recovered from the Tennessee State Archives after debris from the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Additional exhibit cases and interpretive panels are visible in the background.

For the Tennessee State Museum Thousands of Stories blog, an exploration of how a file cabinet recovered from the World Trade Center site after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, founds its way to the Museum’s collection.

Read more at the Tennessee State Museum’s website.