William Haines Lytle met his match at Chickamauga
Mike West, The Murfreesboro Post, December 6, 2009 Gen. William Haines Lytle was a warrior-poet with a major reputation in the heyday of poetry. His first known poem was written when he was 14. His best known poem, “Antony and Cleopatra” was published in the Yale Book of American Verse…
Historic Sanders Farm Saved by Trust
From The Murfreesboro Post, Sunday, December 6, 2009 The Land Trust for Tennessee announced that landowner Patricia ‘Pat’ Sanders has conserved 331 acres of farmland through a permanent conservation agreement with the statewide nonprofit land conservation organization. The farm, located on Armstrong Valley Road, is a Tennessee Century Farm and…
The President is coming to … old Murfreesborough
As published by the Murfreesboro Post, Sunday, November 29, 2009 By Mike West, Managing Editor The President’s coming … the President’s coming to little Murfreesboro. No, not President Obama. We are talking somewhat ancient history and about the president of an entirely different nation, the ill-fated Confederate States of America.…
Caponizing Not Always that Successful…
As published by the Daily News Journal, Sunday, November 22, 2009 By Greg Tucker, President of the Rutherford County Historical Society The surgical procedure was part of the curriculum. The mortality rate evidenced the limited experience and skill of the “surgeons.” In the rural Christiana community in the mid-1930s, just…
Does the Name Murfrees Spring Ring a Bell?
As published by the Murfreesboro Post, Sunday, November 15, 2009 By Mike West, Managing Editor Does the name “Murfree Spring” ring a bell? Perhaps it does when you apply it to “Discovery Center at Murfree Spring?” More than 110,000 youngsters and families explore that popular children’s museum each year, but…
‘Brosie’ went beyond the call
As published by the Daily News Journal, Sunday, November 8, 2009 By Greg Tucker, President of the Rutherford County Historical Society “There is no more familiar figure in Murfreesboro than Ambrose Crass,” observed Herndon McCain, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in 1944. “His patriotism is an example to…
Hero of Revolutionary War Settled in Rutherford County
As published by the Murfreesboro Post, Sunday, November 8, 2009 By Mike West, Managing Editor One early Rutherford County resident was a hero at the battle of King’s Mountain during the American Revolution. Joseph Dickson served as a major at King’s Mountain with a group of men from Lincoln County,…
Remembering Rutherford: Harsh country with rugged folk!?
Greg Tucker, The Daily News Journal, November 8, 2009 “A man living back in the cedars (in Rutherford County) … has got to scratch and sweat mightily if he wants to starve decent,” according to “Tennessee: A Guide to the State”, a 1939 publication of the Federal Writers’ Project. As…
The dear price of war
Michelle Willard, The Murfreesboro Post, November 8, 2009 Since Operation Enduring Freedom began in 2001 and Operation Iraqi Freedom began in 2003, 108 soldiers from Tennessee have fallen on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. Eleven of the fallen heroes had ties to Murfreesboro, Rutherford County and Middle Tennessee State…
Susan G. Daniel was into Genealogical Research before it was Cool!
November 1, 2009, Sam Stockard, The Dail y News Journal Susan G. Daniel was into genealogical research before it was cool. That desire to delve into the past fueled the writing, compilation and editing of numerous books, work that required years of tedious investigation. Daniel’s efforts have been recognized on…
“Fighting Forties” Battled on and off the Field
As published by the Daily News Journal, Sunday, November 1, 2009 By Greg Tucker, President of the Rutherford County Historical Society It was the most dramatic fall from competitive dominance in the history of Southern Interscholastic Athletic Conference football. The 1940 season was to be the “comeback year.” In 1935,…
Civil War Signage Program
From the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce: Hundreds of adventures await visitors on the multi-state Civil War Trails program which now includes Tennessee and more specifically, Rutherford County. Nine signs were installed in the county in October and a tenth will be located at the new Chamber of Commerce building.…
Headless Horseman haunts Stones River Battlefield
Mike West, The Murfreesboro Post, October 18, 2009 Does the ghost of a headless horseman still haunt Stones River Battlefield? Yes, if you believe anonymous witnesses to the sight and postings on the Internet. The rider in question is said to be the ghost of Lt. Col. Julius P. Garesche,…
Rutherford County Hosted “Three Wicked Witches”
As published by the Daily News Journal, Sunday, October 25, 2009 This is Part Three of Three Part One, Part Two By Greg Tucker, President of the Rutherford County Historical Society Two sisters, Virginia Wardlaw and Mary Wardlaw Snead, raised in a prominent and wealthy southern family, earned wide respect…
Diamonds Revived Murder Mystery
As published by the Daily News Journal, Sunday, October 18, 2009 This is Part Two of Three Part One, Part Three By Greg Tucker, President of the Rutherford County Historical Society Two distinguished educators — sisters Virginia Wardlaw and Mary W. Snead — brought Soule Female College to national prominence by…
APTA Historic Marker Place On Porterfield Community Farm Added
Approximately thirty members of APTA, family, and friends gathered at the Alexander-Ready-Cates Farm at Porterfield on Sunday, October 18th, for the unveiling of the APTA (Association for the Preservation for Tennessee Antiquities) marker. The marker was covered with a woven blanket belonging to the home’s builders, Mary Annis Alexander and…
Sinister Soule Sisters Leave Lock Box
As published by the Daily News Journal, Sunday, October 11, 2009 This is Part One of Three Part Two, Part Three By Greg Tucker, President of the Rutherford County Historical Society Were the valuables found in the First National Bank of Murfreesboro lock box in 1930 related to the bathtub…
Griffin Rutherford drove away Indians, bought land
As published by the Daily News Journal, Sunday, October 11, 2009 By Greg Tucker, President of the Rutherford County Historical Society As part of the 1776 campaign to clear the Cherokee from the region that is now upper east Tennessee, General Griffith Rutherford, with a militia of 2,400, “destroyed thirty-six…
Transportation was Major Concern in Early Days
As published by the Murfreesboro Post, Sunday, September 27, 2009 By Mike West, Managing Editor In Rutherford County’s early days, getting from one point to another was a major concern. Yep, we are talking about roads, which in the early days, weren’t much more than paths created by landowners and…
Bradley Academy Museum to hold heritage fest
The Murfreesboro Post, September 26, 2009 Education, music and turnip green cook-off among Oct. 24 activities. Bradley Academy Museum and Cultural Center is having its inaugural Heritage Festival Art Contest. The contest will be held in conjunction with the Rutherford County African American Heritage Festival from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday,…