Dr. Portis is Speaker for Huntingdon Historical Society

HUNTINGDON — On September 16, 2026 at 9 a.m. in the conference room of City Hall in Huntingdon, Tennessee, Dr. Scotty Portis will be the speaker at the monthly meeting of the Huntingdon Historical Society.

Dr. Portis was born in Lexington in 1941.  He and his parents moved to Huntingdon when Dr. Portis was three years old.  The family moved into the Townes House and lived with Alida Townes, who was the last Townes to own the home, for a short time.

Dr. Portis grew up in Huntingdon and went to Huntingdon High School, where he played sports.  Dr. Portis then attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on a sports scholarship.  After earning his master's in Finance, Dr. Portis worked for Eli Lily International and, after moving to Nashville, for Commerce Union Bank for a year.  Dr. Portis went back to the University of Tennessee, graduated from medical school, and completed his residency in 1974.  Dr. Portis then returned to Huntingdon where he began practicing at the Wilson Clinic.

In 1975, Dr. Portis and his family moved into the Townes House and lived there until 2017.

Dr. Portis will discuss the Townes House and its relation to the Civil War.  The Townes House is the oldest house in Huntingdon and was built in 1837 by John Kelley Clark for his daughter, Julia and her husband, James T. Townes.  The Townes family lived in the home for over 120 years.

So come out and join us on September 16, 2026 in the conference room of City Hall in Huntingdon at 9 a.m. when we will learn more local history and the importance this history has in the town's development.