August 6, 1970, The Rutherford Courier Workmen are shown making repairs on the Jefferson Pike bridge which is undergoing repairs. The bridge developed structural faults following its opening last year (ed. 1969) and has been closed months since was first put into use. Rutherford County Road Superintendent Bill Wilson said…
March 7, 2022, by Local Historian Susan Harber Esquire Alfred Clinton Blackman, namesake for Blackman community, was born in 1790 in Clinton, North Carolina (Sampson County) to James and Elizabeth Cates Blackman. Alfred’s grandparents Stephen and Ann Snell were also from North Carolina. His uncles John and Bennett Blackman migrated…
February 12, 2022, Frank Caperton Carpe Cafe, 115, Front Street in downtown Smyrna, Tennessee is located in a VERY cool building. The following is a brief history – gleaned from the Rutherford Courier and the Daily News Journal.
September 11, 2021, Batey Farm The 400 acre Batey Farm, located west of Murfreesboro in the community of Blackman, is the oldest ‘Century Farm’ in Rutherford County having been established in 1807. John L. Batey gave a wonderful tour of the family cemetery, the Batey Farm store, and shared cool,…
September 10, 2021, Sam Davis Home, Smyrna, Tennessee Kids and adults alike enjoyed the annual Heritage Day at Smyrna’s historic Sam Davis Home and Plantation. Heritage Day began in 1987 and seemingly grows each year. Sam Davis Home Executive Director Jenny Lamb says, “This year we have more than 600…
August 10, 2021, Rutherford County Commissioner Pettus Read While growing up among the hillsides and rolling farmland of Middle Tennessee in the community of Versailles, I had the opportunity to experience, learn and receive an extended education in family pride and heritage. Everyone in the small community I called and…
July 27, 2021, Susan Harber, The Daily News Journal Big Hart’s Spring is one mile west of Smyrna at the head of Hart’s Branch and carries a beautiful history within our county. These waters intersect Sam Ridley Parkway West. This large branch on Taylor’s Trace was a connecting salt spring…
July 1, 2021, Susan Harber I often receive requests to look over a historical relic firsthand, whether to identify architecture or research genealogy. Yet, I could never have imagined the jewel bestowed from a simple phone call that is quite the ‘find’ of my quest for historical preservation. Frontier forerunner…
July 4, 2021, Rockvale, Tennessee Did you know the Rockvale Ruritans Club has been hosting the annual 4th of July Celebration since 1927? 2021 marked the 94th year of this piece of Americana. Hamburgers, ice cream, Kona Ice, barbeque, games and most of all, a sense of community. No ticket…
Rutherford County Historical Society Publication 2, 1978 (Selection from Jack R. Mankin’s “Autobiography” written for his children in which he describes his brother’s store and offers some nostalgic impressions of life as he remembers it in the surrounding communities of Mankinville and Dilton.) When I was a child–some eight or…