Billy Ledbetter—Last Survivor of RCHS Charter Members

June 10, 2021 Rutherford County Historian Greg Tucker The Rutherford County Historical Society was first organized in 1971 with thirty-three charter members. Among these first members was William C. (“Billy”) Ledbetter, Jr. Believed to be the last surviving Charter Member, Billy died on December 28, 2020. Billy was born on…

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Ed Morris Motor Company

Ed Morris Motor Company was a staple on the east end of downtown Murfreesboro for more than twenty years. Initially located 325 East Vine Street (across from the Old City Cemetery), it moved around the corner to 324 South Maney in 1960.

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The Year 1982 in Rutherford County

1983, Cathy Goode The following is a month-by-month compilation of news in Rutherford County, Tennessee: JANUARYThe Parker Group of Smyrna announced plans for a $14 million industrial warehouse complex. Perimeter Square will be built in Smyrna at the intersection of J. S. Young Road and Enon Springs Road (ed. J.S.…

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Ernie Johns, Air Force ROTC Cadet

August 5, 1955, The Rutherford Courier Ernest ‘Ernie’ King Johns lived a most incredible life from October 14, 1934 till March 12, 2016. Ernie raised a family, became a home builder, a Rutherford County Commissioner. But most of all, Ernie became a leader in the local history community.

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Who was the Rutherford County mortgage innovator?

Frow Chips, March/April, 2021, Greg Tucker, Rutherford County Historian During the first half of the 20th Century, Andrew L. Todd was Rutherford’s most influential businessman, lawyer, educator, farmer, landowner, politician and socialite. See “Rutherford Ramblings” (RCHS 2014), pages 125-8. In or about 1915, Todd developed an innovative proposal to use…

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The House of Aldermen

Researched and Written by Barry Lamb, Froe Chip, January/February, 2021 Many of you aficionados of local history are familiar with the home known as the House of Mayors, located at 500 North Spring Street. It was known by that moniker due to the fact that four Murfreesboro mayors resided in…

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President’s Grandpa Spoke his Peace

Greg Tucker, Rutherford County Historian, Froe Chips, January/February, 2021 James K. Polk had some close ties to Rutherford County. He attended school in Murfreesboro in 1814, and in 1824 married Sara Childress, daughter of a prominent Murfreesboro family. Shortly before his marriage, Polk was elected to the Tennessee General Assembly.…

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Big Spring School, 1874-1918

BIG SPRING SCHOOL 1874-1918 was two miles east of the Manchester Highway on the south side of Big Spring Road. It was a lower school, just west of the Big Creek and across from the intersection of the present Cobb Road. On March 2, 1874, Wesley Lowe deeded to School…

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