The New Deal in Murfreesboro
The Linebaugh Library & MTSU History Department, Spring 2009 Murfreesboro’s Linebaugh Library and the Middle Tennessee State University Department collaborated on a tri-fold brochure regarding the Great Depression’s ‘New Deal‘ in Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Millionaire couple helped save Judy Garland’s dad
Mike West, The Murfreesboro Post, September 20, 2009 Millionaire couple helped save Judy Garland’s dad – The Murfreesboro Post In the turn of the 20th century days, a millionaire husband and wife dominated the social scene in Murfreesboro. Tempe Swoope and George M. Darrow were their names. Neither were Rutherford…
Get ready to know Rutherford County
The Murfreesboro Post, September 13, 2009 The Heritage Partnership of Rutherford County invites everyone to Get To Know Rutherford with an opportunity to celebrate the county’s collective stories of the unique people, places and things. This annual three-day event will be a free public event where we will gather, tell…
Modern communication was key to Union success
September 13, 2009, Mike West, The Murfreesboro Post Constant communication was key to Union Army of the Cumberland’s success in Middle Tennessee. Constant communication was key to Union Army of the Cumberland’s success in Middle Tennessee. And what was the secret behind that in the days before radio? The Army…
Remembering the legend of the famous Goat Man
The Murfreesboro Post, Mike West, September 6, 2009 Hoo-wee, it’s Sunday and whatcha doin’ reading Hammerhaid? You should be helping ol’ Hammerhaid clean out his garage. What the heck is he doing with 13 kitchen canister sets? Well anyway, this taste of fall has him wondering whatever happened to The…
Looking Back: Allen Chapel Church still strong
August 30, 2009, Mike West, The Murfreesboro Post Allen Chapel is named in honor of Richard Allen, the founding father of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Murfreesboro’s oldest black congregation was established by newly freed men and freed women in 1866 in the early months of Reconstruction. The beginnings of…
Evergreen Cemetery releases list of desecrated headstones
August 6, 2009, The Murfreesboro Post Evergreen Cemetery is offering a $1,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individuals responsible for vandalizing headstones in Evergreen Cemetery earlier this week. A few of the desecrated stones have been cleaned and crews are working to restore the…
Bradley Academy to begin recording African-American cemeteries
The Murfreesboro Post, August 9, 2009 The Bradley Academy Museum and Cultural Center in Murfreesboro is starting a new project to record all of the African American cemeteries in Rutherford County. This unprecedented project has never been accomplished before, and we feel a strong urgency to record those that have…
Watkins Cemetery
Carol White, The Murfreesboro Post, July 25, 2009 Is Watkins Cemetery in Further Danger? In addition to being overgrown and having stones down, Watson Cemetery may be in further danger. Watkins cemetery is located just off Memorial Road at Cedar View Drive. It’s such a peaceful little family cemetery. The…
In Search of Uriah Stone
As published by the Murfreesboro Post, Mike West, Sunday, July 19, 2009 Maybe the name Uriah Stone tickles something in your memory? But more likely, not. Uriah was perhaps the first white man to travel up the stream now named in his honor. Yes, Stones River is named after this…
DeWitt Smith painted mid-state red with blood of Union soldiers
Dan Goodwin, The Daily News Journal, March 31, 1989 For a good portion of the War Between the States, Middle Tennessee was ostensibly under control of Union forces. That control was won by hard fighting in major and minor battles, but often that control went no further than a city…
When Elvis was King, Murphy ruled
The Murfreesboro Post, Erin Edgemon Elvis Presley, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, The Who, The Beach Boys and Garth Brooks; all are legendary musicians who have sold millions of records. But there’s something else that these performers have in common. They all performed at Murphy Center on the MTSU campus during…
Clark Maples
Roger Clark Maples, 66, passed away Sunday night, May 10, 2009 at his home. Clark was born on April 11, 1943, in Rutherford County, Tennessee, where he lived his entire life. He was a graduate of Central High School and MTSU. He was the owner of Clark Maples Realty &…
Smyrna’s Sam Davis Home is Civil War gem
Mike West, The Murfreesboro Post, April 19, 2009 Next to Stones River National Battlefield, the Sam Davis Home in Smyrna is probably the most interesting and best-preserved Civil War site in Rutherford County. Born on Oct. 6, 1842 in Rutherford County, Sam Davis grew up in the upper middle class…
Civil War resources abound
The Murfreesboro Post, April 3, 2009 Stones River National Cemetery: The federal government established Stones River National Cemetery by means of an order issued by Major Gen. George H. Thomas to Brig. Gen. Horatio Van Cleve on March 29, 1864. Assistant Quartermaster Captain John Means selected the site, designed the…
Bradley Academy Museum celebrates the African American female
The Murfreesboro Post, March 11, 2009 During the month of April, Bradley Academy Museum and Cultural Center will present The African American Female Experience, which is a month-long celebration of the African American female and the essence of who she is. The African American female has suffered, endured, struggled, and…
The man who would have burned New York City
As published in the Murfreesboro Post, Mike West, Managing Editor, February 1, 2009 Col. Robert M. Martin looked the part of a Confederate war hero. He was one of Gen. John Hunt Morgan’s stalwarts who stood 6-feet-tall with steely blue eyes and mustache and goatee. Martin, in his mid-20s, was…
Bradley Academy member drive, history initiatives
The Murfreesboro Post, February 1, 2009 As part of its celebration of 200 years, Bradley Academy Museum and Cultural Center will initiate three new projects during the month of February. The center will kick off its first museum membership drive, begin an African American Cemetery Identification project and also initiate…
Heritage group needs help preserving endangered sites
Michelle Willard, the Murfreesboro Post, January 18, 2009 Since the Tennessee Preservation Trust began its “Ten in Tennessee,” an annual listing of the top 10 endangered historic sites in the state, in 2001 only three have been lost. One of those lost treasures was the Hiram Jenkins House, right here…
Rutherford County’s Top 10 endangered sites
Michelle Williard, Murfreesboro Post, January 18, 2009 History abounds in Rutherford County and so does development, but they don’t have to be exclusive, the Heritage Foundation of Rutherford County said. The county has grown exponentially in population and construction in the last 20 years. With the growth has come the…