Rutherford County Courthouse Museum
Welcome to the Rutherford County Historic Courthouse Museum! This museum is an ongoing partnership between the Rutherford County Archives and the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University. The artifacts on display represent more than 200 years of county history that explores the diverse growth of our community in connection to broader state and national narratives. The Rutherford County Historic Courthouse Museum is free and open to the public.Please contact the Rutherford County Archives at 615-867-4609 for more information.
The Pride of Tennessee mural
The Pride of Tennessee is a 6' x 8' oil painting by Michael Sloan. A sister painting hangs in the old Supreme Court Room in the Tennessee State Capitol.The painting features eleven Tennesseeans notable for their unique contributions to the state and to the nation and is intended to "preserve and promote the cultural heritage and historical accomplishments of all Tennesseans."From left to right in the back row are:Cordell HullAnne Dallas DudleyJames K. PolkAndrew JacksonAndrew JohnsonDavid (Davy) CrockettSequoyahIn the front row:W.C. HandyAlvin C. YorkJackson's horseIda B. Wells-BarnettJohn Siever
Courthouse Original Clockworks
These are the original clockworks from the Tower Clock built into the Rutherford County Courthouse in 1860, before the Civil War had started. The clockworks survived the Civil War battle fought around the courthouse, occupation, and the devastating tornade of 1913 that demolished several buildings along the square. The clock was restored in 2004 and placed on display at the Discovery Center of Murfreesboro for several years before returning home to serve as the centerpiece of the Rutherford County Courthouse Museum.
Early Settlement
For thousands of years various Indigenous groups have lived in Middle Tennessee. By the early 1700s, Native peoples had abandoned permanent, large-scale settlement of the area, although the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Creek nations all used land in Middle Tennessee for hunting grounds. One of these hunting camps was in present-day Murfreesboro and was controlled by the Cherokee chief known as Black Fox.After Tennessee gained statehood in 1796, people began to move westward through the state, settling in Middle Tennessee with their families and enslaved workers. Rutherford County was chartered in 1803 after new settlers petitioned the General Assembly. As the county’s population began to shift south of Stones River, Murfreesboro grew in importance. In 1812, Murfreesboro became the Rutherford County seat, taking over from the original county seat of Jefferson.From 1818 to 1826, Murfreesboro served as Tennessee’s state capital. In 1822, the legislature met at the Presbyterian Church, which was located at the present-day Old City Cemetery.In 1825, what would become Murfreesboro’s longest-operating all-female school opened. Originally called the Female Academy, the school offered classes to white girls in subjects such as philosophy, painting, needlework, and music. In 1852, the Academy renamed itself Soule College after a Methodist bishop. Notable students include Willie Betty Newman, who became a prominent member of Tennessee’s art community around the turn of the century, and Jean Faircloth MacArthur, wife of General Douglas MacArthur.In October 1838, 12,000 Creek and Cherokee people passed through Murfreesboro and Jefferson on a forced removal now known as the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears began after passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830, and between 1830 and 1850 the United States government forcibly relocated tens of thousands of Native Americans to the West. The journey was often difficult, and the march through Middle Tennessee resulted in the deaths of more than 400 Native Americans.This room contains artifacts including early samplers, furniture made by Middle Tennessee craftspeople, and portaits by the famed Tennessee artist Washington Bogart Cooper.
The Civil War and Its Aftermath
By 1860, four out of ten people in Rutherford County were enslaved African Americans. The county’s free Black population had remained about 200 since 1810. Much of Rutherford County’s economy depended on the unpaid labor of the enslaved. In addition to working on farms and plantations, African Americans worked as skilled blacksmiths, weavers, cooks, builders, and laundresses.Citizens of Rutherford County were originally opposed to joining other southern states in secession, but after Confederates fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861, Rutherford County voted overwhelmingly for secession. Residents took up arms on both sides of the war. Twenty-five companies were formed in Rutherford County: twenty-one Confederate companies, and two white companies in the United States forces. After U.S. troops occupied Murfreesboro in 1863, Black residents formed two regiments of the United States Colored Troops.Murfreesboro’s position along the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad and along Rutherford County’s turnpikes made the town an important asset with access to vital supply lines. The N&C Railroad was a focal point in the Battle of Stones River.Five military engagements took place in Rutherford County during the war, with the Battle of Stones River by far the largest and most significant. The battle occurred just a few miles from Murfreesboro’s public square between December 31, 1862, and January 2, 1863. After Confederate forces retreated, the Army of the Cumberland celebrated a strategic victory and began its occupation of Murfreesboro, which lasted until the end of the war in April 1865. In October 1865, Chaplain William Earnshaw and the men of the 111th United States Colored Infantry began relocating the remains of United States soldiers killed in the Battle of Stones River to the new cemetery, which was located within the battlefield. The N&C Railroad had a platform at Stones River Cemetery, and the line was used both to transport remains and visitors to the cemetery.After the Civil War, recently freed African Americans formed their own schools, churches, cemeteries, and fraternal lodges. These include Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church, which organized in 1866, and Bradley Academy, which opened in 1884 and took African American education to a level beyond the smaller schools created after the war. When the fighitng ended, many families continued to farm for their livelihood. However, many people, especially young people, began to migrate from rural areas of Middle Tennessee to larger towns like Murfreesboro in search of new job opportunities. Around the turn of the century this migration from rural areas to urban areas increased.
Business and Entertainment Around the Square
One of the most common and controversial types of businesses in downtown Murfreesboro were saloons, with thirteen around the square in 1887. These establishments served food and drink, as well as “to-go” liquor in reusable ceramic jugs. These businesses were controversial because of the growing temperance movement in the country, which advocated for abstinence from alcohol consumption. In the late 1800s, commercial activity on the public square increased. The square featured many large stores which sold products such as dry goods, groceries, clothing, furniture, and hardware. One notable downtown shop was Goldstein’s, which opened in 1886 and was operated by Lithuanian immigrant William Goldstein, who became known as a “pioneer Murfreesboro merchant.” The store remained open on the square until the 1980s.African Americans, who faced discrimination in white downtown establishments, formed their own thriving business district on South Maple and Vine streets. African American community leaders also sponsored an annual state fair for Black residents called the Mid-South Colored Fair.The Courthouse was an important site in the struggle for women’s suffrage. In 1916, the Murfreesboro’s Women’s Club was founded as a social, philanthropic, and community-improvement organization. Members also became involved with suffrage efforts. In 1920, Sarah Spence DeBow and other suffragists went to the Courthouse to gather signatures on a petition in favor of women’s suffrage. After the Tennessee legislature voted to ratify the 19th Amendment and thus assured the success of the national women’s suffrage movement, however, the courthouse lawn became the site of anti-suffrage protests.Throughout the 1800s, several opera houses around Murfreesboro provided residents with various forms of entertainment, such as vaudeville acts, stage shows, and minstrel acts. In 1914, Murfreesboro gained its first movie theater, the Princess Theatre. In addition to films, the Princess also showed live performances. The Princess was originally located on North Church Street, and in 1936 it reopened on West College Street.
Education, Health and Welfare in 20th Century Rutherford County
In 1907, the Tennessee College for Women opened at 701 East Main Street. The school served white women and girls of all ages, offering classes in subjects such as music, drama, health, and physical education. In 1910, the school began hosting its annual May Day celebration, held each first of May. Students also participated in sports like soccer and hockey.Middle Tennessee State Normal School, which is now MTSU, opened in 1911. The school was originally a teachers’ college for white students and began with only five buildings. Four of these buildings--the President’s house, Kirksey Old Main, Rutledge Hall, and the Alumni Center--are still standing on the campus today. In 1925, the school became Middle Tennessee State Teachers College, and in 1928 the school received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.Opened in 1929, Holloway High School became the only secondary school for African Americans in Rutherford County. The school was named after E.C. Holloway, a local attorney, and was constructed on a plot of land donated by the Colored Fair Association. Holloway was the last Rosenwald School constructed in Rutherford County. The Rosenwald program, run by Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald, provided school buildings for African American students across the south.In 1933, Mary Ellen Vaughn founded Vaughn’s Training School, which provided a variety of classes for African American adults and was created, in part, to enable them to pass the literacy tests that were required for them to vote. The training school offered lessons in typing, sewing, and cosmetology. Vaughn had also founded Murfreesboro’s first African American newspaper, the Murfreesboro Union, in the 1920s.In the 1920s, Rutherford County was selected by the Commonwealth Fund of New York to begin a path-breaking rural healthcare program to improve maternal and child health. The program lasted five years and included demonstrations at schools and in homes on topics such as hygiene and sanitation. The program also provided vaccinations, birthing lessons, and dental care. These healthcare programs were segregated by race, and Mary Ellen Vaughn, who was also a nurse, led the health programs established for African Americans. In 1926, the Commonwealth Fund built the Rutherford Hospital, and in 1931 it built the Rutherford Health Department.
World War II to Civil Rights
Rutherford County was very involved with the war effort during World War II. In addition to the hundreds of men and women from the area who served in the military, Murfreesboro also took in wounded veterans at the newly constructed Veterans Administration Hospital. In 1941, the Army Air Force chose Smyrna as the location for a training command base, where cadets were taught to fly B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberator Bombers. Between 1942 and 1944, the Second Army used several Middle Tennessee counties, including Rutherford, to prepare more than 850,000 soldiers for the planned invasion of Europe.Jean Faircloth MacArthur, the second wife of General Douglas Macarthur, lived in Murfreesboro for many years and attended Soule College. In 1947, after Vaughn’s Training School won first place for their exhibit at the Mid-South Colored Fair, Jean Macarthur wrote a letter to Mary Ellen Vaughn congratulating her for the school’s prize. In 1951, Jean, General MacArthur, and their son visited Murfreesboro and were greeted with a citywide celebration.In 1943, Middle Tennessee State Teachers College became Middle Tennessee State College. Enrollment increased dramatically after World War II, as returning soldiers took advantage of the GI Bill to attend college. The school continued to grow throughout the 20th century. In 1951, it established a Graduate School and in 1965 became Middle Tennessee State University.In the aftermath of World War II, African Americans increased their efforts for civil rights. These efforts were influenced by the treatment of African American veterans, who returned from fighting only to experience Jim Crow segregation at home. In 1946, WWII veteran Ewel Willis took over Murfreesboro’s NAACP branch, which had been founded in 1932. Under Willis’s leadership, the Murfreesboro NAACP advocated for the city’s Black population, pushing for school integration, voting rights, and equal job opportunities.In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that school segregation was unconstitutional in the Brown v. Board of Education case. However, Rutherford County schools defied the Supreme Court and continued to have segregated schools for several years. Desegregation began in 1959, spurred by a successful lawsuit against the county by sixteen Black families. Even after the lawsuit, Rutherford County was slow to integrate. Middle Tennessee State College did not gain its first Black student until 1962, and Murfreesboro public schools did not fully integrate until 1968, fourteen years after the Brown v. Board decision. Holloway High School, previously the only public high school open to African Americans in Murfreesboro, closed in 1968 after being open for almost 40 years.In 1975, Myrtle Glanton Lord led a group of residents in advocating for the creation of a community center that would serve the Black community in Murfreesboro. Lord, a graduate of Bradley Academy and a teacher there for 42 years, was a leader in Murfreesboro’s African American community. She was involved in organizations like the NAACP and the League of Women Voters. Thanks to her and the community’s efforts, the Patterson Park Community Center was opened in 1979 at the site of Holloway High School’s old football field. The center was named for James R. Patterson, an African American dentist who had provided free dental care to the students of Bradley Academy. In 2004, The Myrtle Glanton Lord Memorial Library opened inside Patterson Park Community Center in her honor.
Preserving the Courthouse and Exit to Memorials
Exit through the doors to view the outdoor memorials and enjoy the downtown square!The Rutherford County Courthouse was built in 1859 and is one of Tennessee’s six remaining pre-Civil War courthouses. In the 1950s, due to lack of office space, there was discussion of demolishing the courthouse to build a larger building. Sarah McKelley King led the local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the Confederacy in a campaign to have the courthouse preserved rather than torn down. The campaign was successful, and the building underwent major renovations in the late 1950s, including the addition of the wings in 1959.
General Griffith Rutherford memorial
General Griffith Rutherford (1721-1805) was an Irish-born statesman and Revolutionary War veteran, and an important figure in the early history of the Southwest Territory and the state of Tennessee. He entered the Revolutionary War in 1775 as a colonel in North Carolina’s militia, in command all colonial military forces west of the Alleghenies. Rutherford was later promoted to brigadier general in 1776,After the war, he received 3,000 acres of Tennessee land. Rutherford County was named for General Rutherford in 1803. The General Griffith Rutherford stone memorial was erected in 1946 by the Tennessee Historical Commission.
Murfreesboro - Capital of Tennessee marker
Authorized by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1949, this marker highlights Murfreesboro's brief tenure as the capital of Tennessee from June 1, 1818 to April 30, 1826.Murfreesboro was named the capital of Tennessee in 1818 because of its central location; Nashville regained the title as the state capital in 1826.
Veteran's Memorial
Murfreesboro’s Veterans’ Memorial was originally dedicated on Memorial Day 1948 to honor local residents who had been killed in the first and second World Wars. In 1977, an addition was made to either side of the earlier memorial to honor those killed in the Korean and Vietnam wars. In 2007, an addition was engraved under the Korean War section to commemorate those killed in the Iraq War. For 25 years, the veterans’ memorial on the square has been the location of Murfreesboro’s Veterans’ Day memorial service.
Confederate memorial
Murfreesboro’s Confederate monument was dedicated in November 1901 to the Confederate soldiers who fought at the Battle of Stones River. Funds for the monument were raised by the Daughters of the Confederacy, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the memorial associations that had preceded these groups in the area.
