Preserve and Promote OUR local history!
406 North Academy Homeowners and Tax Abatement Program Recipients Finish Home Renovations
October 15, 2020 WGNS Radio Alan and Beth Morris, owners of 406 N Academy and the second recipients of the Rutherford County Tax Abatement Program, recently finished renovations of their beautiful home, originally built in 1850. Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron, Property Assessor Rob Mitchell, and Rutherford County Historian Greg…
Recognize these Seventh Graders from 1987?
October 25, 1987, The Daily News Journal The Daily News Journal had a wonderful section each week featuring the thoughts of local students.
Depot Hill Water Storage Tank
February 3, 1974, The Daily News Journal How many times have we driven past water tanks without taking notice? The water tank located near McFadden School of Excellence is in an area once known as ‘Depot Hill’. $557,000 for a two-million gallon water tank seemed like a large sum of…
Holloway High School (Black), 1929-1968
HOLLOWAY HIGH SCHOOL BLACK 1929-1968 was built on the east side of South Highland Street. It was dedicated in December 1929 and was named in honor of E. C. Holloway who worked for the establishment of the school. The school served both city and county students. On April 27, 1929,…
The Female Academy, 1825-1891
The FEMALE ACADEMY 1825-1891 was located on the east side of Depot Street opposite the Methodist Church, presently Maple Street opposite the building of the Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation. According to the SOULE COLLEGE historical marker, the FEMALE ACADEMY was organized by Mary and Nancy Banks, teachers. F. N.…
Tommy Martin was ‘Mr. Murfreesboro’ for a reason
September 29, 2020 Jason Reynolds, The Murfreesboro Post Family and friends of the original ‘Mr. Murfreesboro’, Tommy Martin, said they want to make sure members of the community continue to remember his legacy. Martin’s influence in shaping the community in the mid-1900’s was such that the Murfreesboro City Council and…
First Lady Sarah Polk has Deep Roots in Murfreesboro
September 28, 2020, Susan Harber, Local Historian Rutherford County bequeathed an elegant and sophisticated future president’s wife in the emergence of Sarah Childress Polk. She was named for her maternal grandmother Sarah Thompson Whitsitt (1746-1831), who was born in British Colonial America. Sarah served as a respected and fascinating First…
Crichlow Grammar School, 1922-1968
CRICHLOW GRAMMAR SCHOOL 1922-1968 was located in Murfreesboro at 400 North Maple Street on the site of the old MURFREESBORO FEMALE ACADEMY and across the street from the present MTEMC building. In 1919, John Charles Mitchell, City School Superintendent, remodeled the old MURFREESBORO PUBLIC SCHOOL OR MAPLE STREET GRAMMAR SCHOOL,…
Murfreesboro Public School, aka Maple Street Grammar School, 1891-1922
A predecessor of CRICHLOW SCHOOL was MURFREESBORO PUBLICSCHOOL, 1891-1922 which was housed in the old MURFREESBOROFEMALE ACADEMY on Maple Street across from the present MTEMCbuilding. An Act of the Tennessee Legislature in 1891 had given the city the authority to levy a school tax. At that time the FEMALE ACADEMY…
Woman discovers treasure of father’s World War II letters
September 19, 2020 The Murfreesboro Post, Jason Reynolds THIS is what preserving history is all about…
Raikes was ‘Greatest Bulldog Ever’
Smyrna High School towers as a beacon on Bulldog Drive where my children Katherine and Michael Harber both graduated. The advent of Robert ‘Bud’ Raikes is a longstanding and storied chapter of time. Robert was a win-win leader for the advancing school for 52 monumental years. He served as prime…
Bob Hope wows the crowd at Murphy Center
April 5, 1973 Middle Tennessee State University Murphy Center, Murfreesboro, Tennessee From the Daily News Journal, April 8, 1973, “The magnificent Charles M. Murphy Athletic Center was the scene of much activity Thursday night when the initial ‘big name’ performance was given by none other than himself, BOB HOPE!”
Andrew Nelson Lytle
September 9, 2020 Local Historian Bill Jakes Andrew Nelson Lytle (December 26, 1902 – December 13, 1995) was an American novelist, dramatist, essayist and professor of literature. He was born on December 26, 1902 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1925. Lytle was the owner of “Cornsilk”,…
Bill Wilson, aka ‘Mr. Murfreesboro’, the RCHS Showcase Member of the Month
July 10, 2020 July/August Frow Chips, Bill Wilson, aka “Mr. Murfreesboro” Our showcased Rutherford Historical Society member for this newsletter is Bill Wilson, also known throughout our community as Mr. Murfreesboro. Bill has been very instrumental in bringing many visitors to the Ransom School house as well as recruit new…
Early Quilting in Rutherford County Heralds Ancestral Ties that Bind
September 4, 2020 Susan Harber, The Daily News Journal I have always been fascinated by quilting as an artistic expression in Rutherford County. Both my grandmother Emily Johns and great-grandmother Helen Johns of Smyrna hand-quilted all of their lives. The historical value of these treasures is highly valued as a…
Central High School, 1919-1944
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL 1919-1944 was located on the westside of North Maple Street where the MTEMC (ed. 1986 this was the location of the Middle Tennessee Electric Membership, 2020 current location of Murfreesboro Housing Authority) building now stands. On February 9, 1917, the city and county jointly bought the old…
Mystery Marker Memorializes Rutherford Immigrants?
July 9, 2020, July/August Froe Chips, Rutherford County Historian Greg Tucker Who were the immigrants and where in Rutherford County is this very substantial cast iron on natural stone marker? This “Immigrant Trail” marker stands at the front corner of the residence at 4949 Woodbury Pike east of Murfreesboro. Placement was apparently…
‘Words of Wisdom’, June 30, 1985
September 11, 1982 Smyrna Activity Center Annual Bean Dinner
The Smyrna Activity Center is celebrating fifty years in 2020 thus RCHS volunteer Frank Caperton has taken on a scanning project involving digitizing 100 (or more) photo albums filled with memories such as this!
