Rutherford County Tennessee Historical Society

Upcoming Events

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Annual Awards Banquet, Carriage Lane Reception House, Saturday, November 9, 2019 Each year the president of the RCHS is tasked with selecting only five volunteers for recognition. I use the word ‘tasked’ because choosing ONLY five volunteers is a tough, tough task. Reservations and payment required by 10/31/2019! (no payments will be accepted at the…

Monday, October 21, 7:00PM

Monday, October 21, Rutherford County Archive, 435 Rice Street: Gib Backlund, well-known, much respected chief ranger (retired) from the Stones River National Battlefield, will be discussing the history of the Stones River National Battlefield and National Parks.

Preserve and Promote OUR local history!

The Rutherford County Historical Society has been preserving and promoting OUR local history since 1971. Perhaps you are researching your family, your property, perhaps just plain, old fun facts - the RCHS is an exceptional resource. The RCHS hosts 'Coffee & Conversation' each Saturday morning from 9AM-noon at the Ransom School House Museum, 717 North Academy Street, Murfreesboro (Tennessee). VERY informal, VERY fun and VERY informative. Our funding comes from membership dues, grants, a trust fund and donations. We have no paid staff - we are all volunteers thus every penny of your membership dues or donations goes to preserving and promoting our local history.

2019 Blue Raider Sports Hall of Fame: Jimmy Martin

August 8, 2019, www.GoBlueRaiders.com, Josh Vardaman, MT Athletic Communications MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – In 1971, Middle Tennessee State University started construction on a brand new, 11,500-seat basketball arena to house the Blue Raiders’ budding men’s basketball program (the women’s program didn’t start until 1975). To help make the first year in their new…

Monday, August 19, 7:00PM

Monday, August 19, Rutherford County Archive, 435 Rice Street: Judge Ben Hall McFarlin will share the story of Civil War sharpshooter Jack Hinson and how Mr. Hinson’s one-of-a-kind Civil War rifle made its way to Rutherford County…

Ransom School House Old School Remembrance Celebration, Saturday, September 14, 9AM till noon

Saturday, September 14, 9AM till noon at the historic Ransom School House – the Ransom School House Old School Remembrance Celebration! Come and join us at the Historic Ransom School House for a class reunion! View Miss Eliza Ransom’s classroom of days gone by. Bring your yearbooks and/or school pics…

Saturday, September 17, 12:30PM – Board Meeting

Saturday, September 17, 12:30PM, Ransom School House – RCHS Board meeting All members in good standing are invited to the bi-monthly RCHS Board meeting.

Oldest county resident, 107, honored

August 5, 2019, The Murfreesboro Post, Jason Reynolds Rutherford County’s oldest known resident, at age 107, was honored with several proclamations and a reception at NHC Murfreesboro recently. Martha Etta Dudney Jones on July 25, Centenarian Appreciation Day, was inducted into the Century Club of Rutherford County. She was presented…

The Old Goldstein’s and Murfreesboro Bank and Trust Buildings on the Square Saved from the Wrecking Ball

August 1, 2019, WGNS Radio The old Murfreesboro Bank and Trust building that most recently housed the Rutherford County District Attorney’s office may soon be purchased. The building is vacant since the county built the new Judicial Center and moved the courts. Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron stated… Another building…

Happy Hill Remembered

Wendi Watts, the Daily News Journal, February 22, 1995 Black education changed through the years in Rutherford County Black Education in Rutherford County has gone through a lot of changes in the past 50 years. In the 1930s and 1940s, Thelma Marie Turrentine Marshall went to class in a one-room…

Medlock Baptism on the Stones River near Salem Pike

July 23, 2019, Bill Jakes From Bill Jakes: “I was given this wonderful photo by a cousin today. It was supposedly taken shortly after a family member’s funeral so it is believed to be from April of 1947. The preacher who performed these creek baptisms was Woodrow Medlock.”

The First Battle of Murfreesboro at Oaklands Mansion

July 13, 2019, Oaklands Mansion, Murfreesboro, Tennessee The time was 0400, 13 July, 1862. The place was the Maney Plantation, north of the sleepy town of Murfreesborough, Tennessee. Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest used surprise, daring and military genius to surprise and defeated the 9th Michigan in the shadow of Oaklands…

Local couple wants to turn Marymont Mansion into a wine bar

July 9, 2019, Michelle Willard, The Murfreesboro Voice Marymont Mansion may be getting a new lease on life. Local couple Jeff and Sherri Brown want to turn the historic house into Black Crow Wine Bar. Built in the 1860s, the antebellum home has slipped through many fingers and into decline…

Rocky Fork’s Dustin Brannon named state history teacher of the year

July 10, 2019, WGNS Radio Dustin Brannon always knew he was going to be a teacher. He just did not always know he was going to teach history. More specifically, the Murfreesboro native didn’t know he was going to teach eighth-grade history, but he had two younger sisters and he…

Interview at Monkey woman Bridge

July 8, 2019 Scott Broden of the Daily News Journal interviewed Rutherford County Historian Greg Tucker at ‘Monkey Woman Bridge’ at Cannonsburgh Pioneer Village. More on ‘Monkey Woman Bridge: Monkey Woman Bridge, June 15, 1957 A piece of Smyrna folklore: The legend of ‘Monkey Woman Bridge’

Rutherford County Cemeteries Driving Tour Brochure

Several historical preservation organizations collaborated on this brochure including: Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, Rutherford County Historical Society, Rutherford County Archives, Rutherford County OIT/GIS, and Bradley Academy Museum & Cultural Center.

Brackin School

Compiled from ‘Rutherford County Schools to 1972’ by the Rutherford County Historical Society, published 1986 BRACKIN SCHOOL fl. 1878 was located on the south side of the old Jefferson Pike, near the railroad, and in the area now known as the Smyrna Air Base. The site of the school and…

Cedar Grove School

Compiled from ‘Rutherford County Schools to 1972’ by the Rutherford County Historical Society, published 1986 CEDAR GROVE SCHOOL before 1897-1936 was located in the area between the old Nashville Highway and the present Interstate Highway. It was on the east side of Cedar Grove Road about one-half mile north of…

The History of Commerce Union Bank of Rutherford County

Commerce Union Bank, once located at the present day Bank of America, 120 East Main Street, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, produced a booklet in 1980, written by Dr. Bob Corlew, dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Middle Tennessee State University. Dr. Corlew was also a leading member of the Rutherford…

Revitalizing Ransom

June 13, 2005, Doug Davis, The Daily News Journal Historic group plans to revive former private school on Academy A historic preservation group is hoping to restore an 1800s brick home on North Academy Street – the Eliza Ransom Private School – and fill it with classrooms of children once…

Saturday, July 13, 12:30PM

Saturday, July 13, 12:30PM, Ransom School House – RCHS Board meeting All members in good standing are invited to the bi-monthly RCHS Board meeting.

Monday, July 15, 7:00PM

Monday, July 15, Rutherford County Archive, 435 Rice Street: Tim James will present the amazing journey of his father – Edsel Ford James – and the Three Ten Pipe and Tobacco Shop once located on East main Street.

Plans FINALIZED To Develop 1-Square Block Downtown

June 28, 2019, WGNS Radio (MURFREESBORO) The City of Murfreesboro finalized the closing Friday (6/28/2019) with One East College, LLC on downtown property for the area’s first mixed-use development. The development, on property known as the former First United Methodist Church location, will incorporate office, residential, retail, restaurant, and hotel…

Join the RCHS today!

Believe it or not, the $25-a-year family membership is our primary source of income. $25 goes a long, long ways to helping preserve our local history. A membership runs from January 1 – December 31 each year.