The Rutherford County Historic Property Review Board has recently approved the tax abatement application for the historic home of Alan and Beth Morris at 406 North Academy Street in Murfreesboro. The antebellum (1857) original structure is now undergoing extensive renovation and addition.
Identified as the H. B. Crockett home on the 1878 Beers map, the location is part of the Lytle Subdivision (1818), the first expansion beyond the original Murfreesborough plat. The Crockett family sold the property to H. H. Kerr in the late 1800’s, and it remained in the Kerr family line until 2018. (H. H. Kerr figures prominently in the history of Tennessee executions. See “Rutherford Ramblings” by Greg Tucker, (RCHS 2014, page 245.)
Approval of the application gives the historic structure a ten-year period without increase in the county tax assessment. The Rutherford County tax abatement for historic preservation program is the first of its kind in Tennessee. The Morris home is the second residence to qualify for the abatement. Both residential and commercial properties, if determined to have historic merit, may qualify. Applications can be requested from the office of the county property assessor (615-898-7750)
