Developer manipulated Normal school site

As published by the Daily News Journal, Greg Tucker, Sunday, August 12, 2012 Andrew Lee Todd (1872-1945) put Middle Tennessee Normal (now Middle Tennessee State University) on the east side of Murfreesboro and put himself in the middle of the resulting development. Todd was born and raised on a modest…

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War had winners, losers, seducers and hardtack

As published by the Daily News Journal, Greg Tucker, July 19, 2012 One hundred and fifty years ago today the citizens of Murfreesboro were celebrating their deliverance from Yankee occupation.  Their hero was Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest.  In an early morning raid on July 13, 1862, Forrest and his…

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Legends of Lascassas known Nationwide

As published by the Murfreesboro Post, Dan Whittle, Sunday, July 1, 2012 “Lascassas/ Fifteen miles from no where/ How I long to go there/ Take be back to Lascassas.” The above lyrics about an unincorporated Rutherford County community came from an impromptu-arranged song during national broadcasts, perhaps during the Lascassas…

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Fosterville Church of Christ Celebrates Faith, History

As published by the Murfreesboro Post, Sunday, June 10, 2012 The little community of Fosterville in southernmost Rutherford County, once a bustling railroad hub of agriculture and commerce, owes its very existence to the steam-powered locomotive, but faith soon became the real driving force that kept its families going through…

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Official records correct Lytle folklore errors

As published by the Daily News Journal, Greg Tucker, Sunday, June 3, 2012 William Lytle, an early Rutherford County landowner, figures prominently in most accounts of the founding of Murfreesboro.  Much of what is said, however, is incorrect. Some of the more often repeated errors involve Lytle’s Revolutionary War record,…

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Downtown remains heartbeat of Murfreesboro

As published by the Murfreesboro Post, Sunday, May 30, 2012 With a smile on his lips and a twinkle in his eye, Marion Bean spoke of downtown Murfreesboro with a fondness that carries years of memories. He noted the history of downtown, like when the city was the state’s capitol…

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City’s Bottoms made way for Broad Street

As published by the Daily News Journal, Wednesday, May 30, 2012 By Doug Davis, Daily News Journal In the 1950s, Murfreesboro obtained federal funding to assist in urban renewal on 52 acres of property known as the Bottoms. “I once lived on Front Street, but I went to the Bottoms…

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Merry Month of May

As published by the Murfreesboro Post, Shirley Ferris Jones, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 WThe month of May was anything but “merry” for the citizens of Murfreesborough in 1862. Our little town was barely 50 years old when it became a focal point of the Civil War in the West. From…

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