MTSU professor, school plan research on campus history
Faculty and students at Central Magnet School will work with Middle Tennessee State University professor Brendan Martin and his students to create an exhibit detailing the history of the school campus.
By Mealand Ragland-Hudgins, Daily News Journal, February 8, 2015
MURFREESBORO — Educators at Middle Tennessee State University and Central Magnet School are working to develop an exhibit highlighting the history of Central’s East Main Street campus.
MTSU history professor Brendan Martin got the idea for the project while talking to his son, Gabriel, a senior at the magnet school, about the historical significance of the campus.
“It occurred to me that most CMS students did not understand or appreciate that their campus has a deep educational legacy that goes back nearly 175 years,” Martin said, adding alumni of the former Central High and Middle schools may not feel connected to the current magnet school. “So, my hope is to use this project as a way to connect alumni back to the school as well as to help current and future CMS students understand that their school has a rich legacy of learning that they are a part of.”
Monetary and physical donations for the exhibit are being sought. The exhibit will be housed in the western part of the school near the gym known as College Corner, Martin said. His students also will create a website where audio, video and still images will be posted.
Prior to the Civil War, the campus located at 701 E. Main St. was home to Union University. In the early 1900s, Union was torn down to make way for the Tennessee College for Women, which existed until 1946. Both schools were affiliated with the Baptist church, Martin said.
Central High School was located on Maple Street at the time it burned down in 1944 and classes were moved to the women’s college. The current building was completed in 1950.
“Typically, for an institution, a project like this might take a year to two years,” said Casey Gymrek, a master’s degree candidate enrolled in Martin’s Essentials of Museum Management class. “But we’re trying to get it done in four months.”
Expected to be completed in time for a May 1 opening,That date is tied to the May Day pageants and parades Tennessee College for Women held during its existence.
The budget for the exhibit is about $6,500, Martin said. He has secured a public service grant for $2,500 and said the university’s College of Liberal Arts has earmarked another $500. Martin is working with the MTSU Foundation to raise additional funds from the community.
The integration of the high school, which began in 1962 with the enrollment of Paul Marchbanks as the first black student, is one of the major pieces of the graduate students’ research, Martin said.
Union University previously was located at the site of Central Magnet School at 701 E. Main St.
When Holloway High closed in 1968, black students were sent to Central. After integration, the building was unable to handle the student body, so Rutherford County opened Oakland and Riverdale High schools in 1972.
Central, in turn, was converted into a middle school. The county school system designated it a magnet school in 2010.
Central Magnet teacher Allen Nichols said he has met with Martin a couple of times to review the research. Despite being a lifelong resident of Rutherford County and a former Central Middle student himself, Nichols said he had little knowledge of the school’s campus prior to the late 1960s.
“While completing my history degree, I conducted extensive research and wrote my history thesis on the consolidation of Rutherford County Schools, mainly focusing on the building of Oakland and Riverdale and how that sparked major change in the county,” said Nichols, who chairs Central’s social studies department. “So, I had an understanding of the culture and success of Central High School from the late 1960s and early 1970s.
“In addition, my mother graduated with the last class of Lascassas High School so I grew up hearing about the small school experience versus what students had at Murfreesboro Central.”
Martin’s research, Nichols said, has been thorough and impressive.
“It has opened my eyes to a history I had never truly appreciated,” he said, adding that his own students will be involved in the project in some way, but exactly how has not been determined.
Other memorabilia from Central’s past is located throughout the school, including a room full of trophies, pictures and yearbooks that were donated around the time it was converted from a middle to a magnet school.
“(Principal John) Ash has done a magnificent job trying to preserve our history in a way that celebrates our diverse tradition here, including Central Middle School,” Nichols said, adding that the room is often shown to visitors from outside of Rutherford County.
Anyone willing to share stories, documents, memorabilia or funds for the exhibit should contact Martin at 615-898-2643 or [email protected].