A Driving Tour: Place Names in Rutherford County Preview

1

Rutherford County Historic Courthouse Museum

Rutherford County’s Name honors Griffith Rutherford, an Irish immigrant who was a brigadier general in the Revolutionary War, a land grant commissioner, and a member of the Southwest Territory council. The state legislature established Rutherford County on October 25, 1803.Murfreesboro was named for Colonel Hardy Murfree, a Revolutionary War soldier from North Carolina who acquired area land grants. The state legislature chartered the town in 1811 and county magistrates designated it as the county seat. From 1818 to 1826, Murfreesboro was the capital of Tennessee.

2

Geographic Center of Tennessee

Take E. Main, then left on Middle Tennessee Blvd., right on Greenland Drive, left on Old Lascassas Pike; obelisk marker on right (2.3 miles)Rutherford County spans 630 square miles and contains the state’s geographical center, which was identified in 1834. The Rutherford County Historical Society marked the spot with an obelisk in 1976.

3

Cannonsburgh

Take W. Main, then left on Broad Street; Turn right onto Front Street (.34 miles)Cannonsburgh, the first name given to Murfreesboro, is now better recognized as the outdoor museum established during the American Bicentennial. Newton Cannon was a state representative who would later be governor. After county magistrates selected sixty acres belonging to Captain William Lytle as the new county seat in 1811, state legislators named the new town Cannonsburgh. The name was changed, however, to Murfreesborough one month later in honor of Lytle’s friend, Colonel Hardy Murfree.

4

Maney Springs

Take E. Main, then left on N. Maney Avenue to Oaklands Historic House Museum (.79 miles)Maney Springs is named after the Maney family and is located on what was Oaklands plantation. Sallie Murfree Maney, daughter of Colonel Hardee Murfree, and her husband, Dr. James Maney, lived in the nearby house that is Oaklands Historic House Museum. Maney Springs was a gathering place for family and community events and was used by troops during the Civil War.

5

Murfree Springs

Take W. Main, then left on Board Street to Discovery Center (.61 miles)Murfree Springs derives its name from Colonel Hardee Murfree. The siter was used as early as 1812 by the Murfree Spring Presbyterian Church congregation, which help services in a nearby log house. A 25-acre city park encompasses the spring’s wetlands, which are near the Discovery Center, and includes the Bart Gordon Nature Trail, History Wall, and Waterworks.

6

Stones River at Thompson Lane Trailhead

Take W. Main, then right on Broad Street (US 41/70S); turn right on North Thompson Lane/ TN-268 (3.70 miles)Stones River is a major tributary of the Cumberland River and was named for explorer Uriah Stone in 1767. The river is the county’s primary water source and was the main route for early settlement. Mills once found along the river served every community, producing corn meal and flour as well as timber. The battle of Stones River, one of the Civil War’s bloodiest, is interpreted at Stones River National Battlefield. Walking or biking the Stones River Greenway is an excellent way to explore this natural and historic resource.

7

Cemetery

Take W. Main, then right on Board Street (US 41/70S), left on Medical Center Parkway, immediate right on West College Street/Old Nashville Highway; churches; located north of entrance to Stones River National Battlefield (4.64 miles)Cemetery is a rural African American settlement named for the Stones River National Cemetery. Newly freed African Americans settled here shortly after the war and the first school and churches were established in the late 1860s and early 1870s. The Cemetery School operated from 1874 to 1962. Stones River Methodist Church and Ebenezer Primitive Baptist Church remain today.

8

Black Fox

Take W. Main, then left on Broad Street (US 41), then left at S. Rutherford Blvd. (3.77 miles)Black Fox was a legendary Cherokee who, by the 1790s, had established a camp and trading post at the spring that bears his name. The place became known as the Black Fox Camp and later became an antebellum crossroads village. Ironically, it was a stopping place on the forced march of the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears. From 1914 to 1940, the City of Murfreesboro operated a municipal water source at the spring. Today, the wetlands and a school are named for Black Fox.

9

Blackman

Take W. Main, right on Broad Street (41/70S), left on Medical Center Parkway/Manson Pike, right on Blackman Road (7.10 miles)In 1895, five men who carried the name of Blackman petitioned to have a post office in their community, which had previously been called Wilkinson’s Crossroads. With the establishment of the post office, the community became known as Blackman. A school, neighborhoods, churches, and a road all carry the name.

10

Smyrna

Take W. Main, right on Broad Street heading north on US 41/70S (12.15 miles)Smyrna, Rutherford County’s second-largest town, is a name first associated with an early Presbyterian church. Smyrna first grew as a village along the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad in the 1850s. During World War II, it was a base for training pilots from the United States, Canada, Australia, and Yugoslavia. Bomber crews continued training at Sewart Air Force Base (named in 1950) until its closure in 1971. Since 1981, Smyrna has been the home of Nissan Motor Manufacturing Corporation, U.S.A.

11

Jefferson

Take W. Main, right on Broad Street heading north on US 41/70S to Smyrna; turn on Sam Ridley Parkway East; continue on Jefferson Pike (TN-266) to Jefferson Springs Recreation Area (13.3 miles)Jefferson, established in 1804, was the first county seat. Named for President Thomas Jefferson, who was beginning his second term that year, the busy trading center at forks of the Stones River in the county’s northwest corner produced flatboats that plied the Cumberland River and beyond, carrying goods to and from the county. Between World War I and World War II, Jefferson Springs was a summer resort. By the 1960s, the waters of Percy Priest Lake covered most of the village. The Old Jefferson Pike, Espey, and Sewart Trailheads of the Smyrna Greenway System highlight this historic area.

12

Lavergne

Take W. Main, right on Broad Street heading north on US 41/70S through Smyrna (18.47 miles)“La Vergne,” translated from the French, means “the Arbor.” Francois Leonard Gregoise de Rouhlac, an early settler, thought this name was perfect for the area’s lush, open landscape. John Hill, Rouhlac’s so-in-law, laid out the original town in 1852, and it soon became a freight stop on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. Incorporated in 1972, La Vergne is the county’s third largest town.

13

Walter Hill

Take W. Main, right on Broad Street, right on US231 North, right on TN-266 to the village (8.41 miles)Walter Hill, once called Blacks Cross Roads, was named for storekeeper and postmaster Walter Hill in 1895; he simply gave his name as the postmark. Earning its place in 20th-century technology, Walter Hill became the site of the county’s first hydroelectric plant, built on the Stones River by the Tennessee Electric Power Company in the 1910s. Turn right before the bridge to enter a park by the dam overspill.

14

Lascassas

Take E. Main, left on Middle Tennessee Blvd., right on Lascassas Pike/ TN-96 North (9.17 miles)Lascassas is northeast of Murfreesboro. Although the name may have been Las Casa or “the house” in Spanish, the exact origin remains a mystery.

15

Milton

Take E. Main, left on Middle Tennessee Blvd., right on TN-96 North (15 miles)Milton may have been named after early settlers in the area. During the Civil War on March 20, 1863, General John Hunt Morgan’s Confederate cavalry fought Union forces at the Battle of Vaught’s Hill, which is also known as the Battle of Milton.

16

Kittrell

Take E. Main and continue east on Woodbury Pike (8.96 miles)Kittrell was named for Major Marion Kittrell, a Confederate. Its most famous resident was legendary country music star Uncle Dave Macon. Uncle Dave Macon Days are held annually at Cannonsburgh Village, drawing “old-time” musicians and music lovers from around the country.

17

Pilot Knob

Take E. Main, right on S Rutherford Blvd., left on John Bragg Highway/TN-70S, left on Pilot Knob Road (10.53 miles)Peaking at over 1,100 feet, Pilot Knob, located along the Woodbury Highway near Readyville, is one of the highest hills in the county. A natural landmark, Pilot Knob was reportedly used by Native Americans to spot wild game. During the Civil War, federal troops operated a signal station and outpost from this strategic vantage point.

18

Hoover’s Gap

Take W. Main, left on Broad Street, and continue south on US 41/Manchester Pike (10 miles)The Hoover family, who settled much of the area, gave their name to this gap in the hills. The Battle of Hoover’s Gap was an important turning point in the Tullahoma Campaign of 1863.

19

Christiana

Take Maple Street off square; turn left on E. Vine Street; turn right on S. Church Street; continue south on US 231; turn left on Christiana Road (10.63 miles)The community of Christiana dates from the arrival of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad in the 1850s. Col. James M. Grant, a railroad engineer, established a farm here and is credited with naming the village. An abolitionist, Grant may have wanted to honor stopped slave catchers from capturing runaways under the federal Fugitive Slave Act during the controversial “Christiana Riot” of 1851.

20

Fosterville

Take Maple Street off square; turn left on W. Vine Street, turn right on S. Church Street; continue south on US 231; turn left on Fosterville Road North (14.54 miles)Fosterville, one of the earliest Rutherford County settlements, was named after settler John Foster, who established a trading post and home in the area during the 1830s. In the 1850s, the community became a railroad stop for the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, and the village shifted closer to the railroad.

21

Rockvale

Take W. Main, right on Broad Street, left on Old Fort Parkway (TN-96), left on New Salem Pike; continue west in TN-99; turn left at Rockvale Road (11.27 miles)Rockvale, at the headwaters of the Little Harpeth River, was awarded its first post office in 1879. According to tradition, the town was named by Mrs. Tabita Carlton in “recognition of her valley of rocks.”

22

Eagleville

Take W. Main, right on Broad Street, left on Old Fort Parkway (TN-96), left on New Salem Pike; continue west on TN-99; town is at intersection of TN-99 and US41A (18.56 miles)Eagleville was named in 1836, and until 1877 the crossroads village was within the borders of Williamson County. According to legend, an eagle was killed on the proposed site of the post office by Chesley William, a pioneer merchant.