murfreesboro anniversary

8Contents

Postcards ofMurfreesboro - Today

12 Sites help keepthe past present

4 Why city’shistory stillmatters

6 Psychic does somecrystal ball gazing

Whenagriculturewas king

10

2 • THE DAILY NEWS JOURNAL

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THE DAILY NEWS JOURNAL • 3

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Political leader Mar-cus Garvey once said, “Apeople without the knowl-edge of their past history,origin and culture is like atree without roots.”

As Murfreesboro cele-brates its 200th anniver-sary, several local agen-cies and groups exist forthe sole purpose of keep-ing the past present, mak-ing sure that the city’s ori-gins and progression intothe vibrant city it is todayisn’t just something thathappened “back then” andholds principles that canbe learned from.

Antoinette van Zelm, ahistorian with the Tennes-see Civil War NationalHeritage Area, workswith MTSU’s Center forHistoric Preservation andthe Heritage Center ofMurfreesboro and Ruth-erford County to keep thearea’s past as a point of in-terest for visitors and lo-cals alike.

“We do workshops withteachers about how to uselocal history in the class-rooms. We host fieldtrips,” van Zelm saidwhile at the Heritage Cen-ter’s office in DowntownMurfreesboro. “We get alot of our visitors from the(Stones River) battlefield

KEEPING THE PAST PRESENT

Reenactors shoot a Model 1841 six-pounder cannon at Stones River Battlefield in this 2009 photo. Reenactments and tours are among the activities the battlefield offers to keep thecity’s history alive for future generations. DNJ FILE

Teachers, localsites emphasizewhy city’shistory matters

By MealandRagland-Hudgins

Elizabeth Merritt listens as tworeenactors recall the battle atStones River Battlefield. DNJ FILE

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because of the number ofpeople it draws. Our goalhere really is to whet peo-ple’s appetite about whattreasures we have hereand get them out to the(historic) sites.”

The Heritage Centeroffers walking toursaround the Public Squareand a map with 22 pointsof interest for those inter-ested in a driving tour.The wall map of the driv-ing tour stops inside thecenter’s office on WestCollege Street alwayssparks conversation, vanZelm added, but the walk-ing tour is her favorite.

“People who have livedhere for a really long timeor have family roots herehave all kinds of storiesabout places around theSquare. We probablylearn more from themthan they learn from us,but that can be a goodthing. It enhances thetours and we can sharewhat they share with us,”she said.

MTSU’s Center forHistoric Preservationmay be based locally, butits work stretches muchfurther.

Led by Van West, theCHP has helped business-es, civic and faith-basedgroups across the stateand country to completenominations for registersof historic places, tourismpublications, conferencesand exhibit organizations.

Christy Moore teachesfourth- and fifth-grade so-cial studies at Murfrees-boro’s McFadden Schoolof Excellence. During theyear, fifth-grade studentscover the Civil War, in-cluding the Battle ofStones River. Fourth-gradestudiesfocusonNa-tive Americans, Tennes-see’s early settlers andfamous Tennesseans.

State standards don’tplace much emphasis onlocal history, but rathercall for students to havean understanding of Ten-nessee history as a whole.

“History is all aroundus. Learn from actuallygoing to the places insteadof a book. Storytelling or

interviewing people fromMurfreesboro that haveactually lived through his-tory, which is everyone,”Moore said, adding thatBradley Academy andMuseum is one of her fa-vorite places to take stu-dents, especially whenstudying Civil Rights.

Many of Murfrees-boro’s most popular annu-al events are also steepedin history. Heritage Daysat Cannonsburgh PioneerVillage and Oaklands His-toric House Museum, andliving history reenact-ments at the Stones RiverNantional Battlefield areamong them.

Even RutherfordCounty’s largest enter-tainment event — UncleDave Macon Days — isbuilt on the fabric of pastentertainers and music.

— Mealand Ragland-Hudgins,615-278-5189

McFadden School of Excellence students hold a sit-in in front of Bradley Academy and Museum after marching in peaceful protest against unhealthyfoods. McFadden social studies teacher Christy Moore said the museum is one of her favorite local field trip destinations. DNJ FILE

Dylan Casey learns how to wash clothes with soap and a scrub board during Oaklands annual Days of Washing,Churning & Learning. DNJ FILE

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MURFREESBORO —When settlers founded

the city they likely nevercould have foreseen howand what Murfreesborowould develop into today.So how can we know whatthe city will look likeyears from now?

Miss Mary the Amaz-ing Psychic (who insiststhat’s her real name andwho runs her shop onNorthwest Broad Street)offered her predictions ofwhat Murfreesboro willbe like in the years tocome.

» Population boomMiss Mary said the city

will “grow sky high” andthat “people from thenorth and the east willwant to come to Tennes-see over the next six toseven years.

“Murfreesboro is go-ing to grow, not double,but triple its size,” thepsychic said.

» Big businessAccording to Miss Ma-

ry, a big company will callMurfreesboro home in

seven or eight years, may-be even 10. She predictsthis company will changethe makeup of the city.

» Jobs increaseDue to the increase in

population, there will beneed for more housing,more schools and moreshopping. Miss Mary saidMurfreesboro will be theNo. 1 community in thestate. She warns thatwithout bringing in activ-ities, such as fairs, carni-vals, and even an amuse-ment park, people will be-gin to leave, however.

» ProgressIn about 10 to 20 years,

the focus will changefrom preserving to pro-gressing.

“They will continuebuilding,” Miss Marysaid. “They will tear downthe old buildings to makeMurfreesboro more mod-ern and sophisticated.”

She said residentsshould look forward tobigger buildings and new-er, modern architecture.

Beyond that, Miss Ma-ry could not give much in-formation. She is avail-able to do psychic read-ings at 5530 N.W. BroadSt.

— Samantha E. Donaldson, 615-278-5155

OUR FUTURE

What does the future hold for the city of Murfreesboro?PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY HELEN COMER/GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

Psychic says citywill ‘grow sky high’By SamanthaE. Donaldson

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There is nothing greater than adeep relationship with God theFather. Every person shouldknow exactly who God is and

what He can do for them.

Every Christian should begrowing continually, and itis special to be part of a

church where you can growalong with other Christians.

Jesus Christ left us witha command to reach theworld. The church existsin order to tell othersabout Jesus Christ.

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Franklin Road Baptist Church

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From Cannonsburgh to The Avenue, from agriculture tomanufacturing, Murfreesboro has seen a few changes inits 200-year history. A rich history, our music, our peopleand so much more combine to make this a great placeto work, live and play – today and for years to come.

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Murfreesboro’s past cannot be celebrated withoutsome recognition of its present. The city today is abustling community enriched by historic individualsand stories, built on a foundation of education and ona future of growth and opportunity. Herewith are im-ages from the present that define how far we’vecome and who we are today.

Josephine Harrington, 3, jumps from block to block at thewater lily pond at the the Discovery Center inMurfreesboro. HELEN COMER/DNJ

The Raider Xpress takes on more passengers at one of itsstops on the MTSU campus near downtown Murfreesboro.HELEN COMER/DNJ

Traffic on Broad Street is an unfortunate side-effect ofMurfreesboro’s popularity and prosperity. HELEN COMER/DNJ

A car drives by the entrance of the new Middle TennesseeMedical Center that was completed in 2010. HELEN COMER/DNJ

TristanJacobs, 5,plays on afloating seacreature atSportsCompool, oneof thecity’s mostpopularsummerdestinations.HELEN

COMER/DNJ

The new Student Union Building at MTSU is a highlight ofthe campus today. JOHN A. GILLIS/DNJ

POSTCARDS OF TODAY

The gristmill at Cannonsburg Pioneer Village is a postcard out of time, enjoyed every day at the historic site. HELEN COMER/DNJ

The fountain at Civic Plaza in downtown Murfreesboro.The NHC building in the background is the tallest buildingin downtown Murfreesboro. HELEN COMER/DNJ

Rover buses pick up passengers at the hub on the cornerof Burton and Walnut streets. JOHN A. GILLIS/DNJ

The pastis present:Murfreesboroa window ofopportunity

Sarah Zapotocky rides her bike along the Stones River Greenway in Murfreesboro. HELEN COMER/DNJ

The Embassy Suites Murfreesboro Hotel & Conference Center isone of the newer hotels in the area. HELEN COMER/DNJ

Justin Mitchell strolls by some of the shops at The AvenueMurfreesboro. HELEN COMER/DNJ

8 • THE DAILY NEWS JOURNAL THE DAILY NEWS JOURNAL • 9

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Until just 20 years ago,agriculture was king inMurfreesboro.

Early families such asthe Murfrees, Lytles,Ruckers, Bateys, Black-mans and many othersowned and farmed theland or raised cattle, saidJohn Lodl, who is directorof the Rutherford CountyArchives.

“Cotton was a big prod-uct,” Lodle said of Mur-freesboro’s 200-year his-tory. “We had big planta-

tions and a large slavepopulation. We fit thestereotype of the South.Plantation owners tendedto be land speculators.They were constantlybuying and selling andadding other properties.”

The Oaklands Planta-tion had around 1,500acres.

“Slaves built thehouses,” said Lodle, not-ing that about half of Mur-freesboro’s populationwere slaves. “They werethe labor force, fromworking the fields to con-

structing the houses andbuildings. They wouldhave been an integral partof the Public Square. Youwould have seen the en-slaved people among ev-erybody else. They had tofetch the water from thewells, chop the firewood,so they didn’t exactly livein the shadows of society.”

Not everybody ownedslaves. Many small familyfarms or shops had noslaves. There were alsosome “free persons of col-or,” but there weren’tmany, Lodle added.

OUR WORKFORCE

Agriculturewas king inMurfreesboro

By Scott Broden ABOVE: John L.Batey unloadsfeed corn to putin a silo on hisfamily farm.

LEFT: BrandonWhitt and John L.Batey place areflector on theback of a tractorbefore getting onthe road to driveto the field.PHOTOS BY HELEN

COMER/DNJ

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Among those still in ag-riculture today are JohnL. Batey, who operates theoldest family farm here,passed down from gener-ation to generation in thecounty.

“I’m the sixth genera-tion from 1807,” said Ba-tey, whose farm at Black-man and Baker roads wasestablished by his great-great-great-great grand-father James C. Bass. “Hewas one of the first set-tlers here. The Black-mans came in the nextyear in 1808.”

Batey is also a directdescendent of AlfredBlackman, who was one ofthe brothers who camehere to claim their fa-ther’s land grant for ser-vice during the Revolu-tionary War; and Capt.William Batey, who camehere to claim a Revolu-tionary War land grant atabout the same time as theBlackman family, whichprovided the namesake ofthe Blackman communityon the west side of theMurfreesboro area.

“The labor force hasbeen great,” said Batey,who is also chairman ofConsolidated Utility Dis-trict’s Board of Directors.“Agriculture was namedthe No.1 industry in Ruth-erford County until1991...Since then, industrial hashad most of the work-force.”

Batey, who also devel-oped part of his farmlandinto Jamison Downs hous-ing subdivision, saidmany people move herefor jobs because thiscounty continues to offeran attractive quality oflife.

“It’s an excellent placeto live,” said Batey, agraduate of Central HighSchool in 1960 and MTSUin 1974 as an agriculturebusiness major. “It has alot of character. We’vekepta lotof theheritage inall these different com-munities. It’s been passeddown.”

By the end of the1800s,the city took a big step to-ward industry when a ce-dar bucket factory

opened where Cannons-burgh Pioneer Village islocated.

“By the early 1900s, itwas a thriving industry,”Lodle said. “The reasonwe’re on the map is theybuilt the world’s largestcedar bucket.”

The rebuilt bucket ison display, but the originalversion was damaged in afire.

“By the 1920s, we wereknown as the dairy capitalof the world, so we wentfrom cotton to dairy,” saidLodle, noting the Carna-tion milk plant openedaround1927 and its smokestack still stands today atMemorial and Old FortParkway where theHaynes Lumber businessis located.

Heritage Farms Dairyis still doing businessalong New Salem High-way. And food packagingremains strong in Mur-freesboro, when countingthe General Mills plantoff Butler Drive off SouthChurch Street.

MTSU’s roots extend to1911, continuing a tradi-

tion in education at whatused to be a college forwomen on the groundswhere Central MagnetSchool exists today.MTSU these days servesmore than 26,000 studentswith a workforce of morethan 2,000.

A Coca-Cola Bottlingplant had existed wherethe Discovery Center atMurfree Springs is locat-ed.

Other factories havecome and gone, such asGeneral Electric, whichopened in the 1950s withcompany spokesman andfuture U.S. PresidentRonald Reagan comingfor the occasion. Samso-nite and Chromalox alsohad factories at one time.

State Farm also openeda large white-collar officeto examine claims in the1950s, and this companystill has a strong presencehere.

The city has alsoemerged as a stronghealth-care center, serv-ing as home to NationalHealthcare Corp. MiddleTennessee Medical Cen-

ter got its start in 1927 asRutherford Hospital onHighland Avenue, and thenew MTMC continues tothrive at its new locationalong Medical CenterParkway in the city’s Ga-teway area. Murfrees-boro Medical Clinic alsoopened a new office in theGateway area, along withmany other health-careproviders.

Rutherford CountyChamber of CommercePresidentPaulLattureex-pects the future laborforce to remain strong,provided that localsschools do a good job pro-viding the skills thatworkers will need.

“We've grown from anagricultural-based onewith what we are todaywith advanced manufac-turing, food processing,distribution and logis-tics,” Latture said.“Health care has been anemerging industry here. Ithink our workforce hasdone a great job in keep-ing up with that.”

— Scott Broden, 615-278-5158

Amazon employees celebrate the first shipment from the new Murfreesboro fulfillmentcenter in early October. SUBMITTED

Pat Murphy manages General Mills/Pillsbury on ButlerDrive, one of Murfreesboro’s largest employers. DNJ PHOTO

Samsonite was one of the city’s former factories. DNJ FILE

The York VA Medical Center has been a major employerhere since the 1930s. DNJ FILE

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MURFREESBORO — Historyis kept alive at various histori-cal sites and museums in Mur-freesboro, thanks to the dedi-cation of their staffs and pres-ervationists who recognizedthe importance of lessonslearned for future generations.The next two pages provide alook at some of the more pop-ular sites and their place in his-tory.

Rutherford CountyCourthouse

Located on the PublicSquare in downtown Murfrees-boro, the Rutherford CountyCourthouse is one of only sixremaining Tennessee court-houses built before the CivilWar. Today, the courthouse is

listed on the National Registerof Historic Places and the inte-rior of the courthouse has beenrestored to its 19th century ap-pearance. It now serves as theheart of Rutherford County’sgovernment, including the of-fice of county mayor. Aroundthe courthouse are historicmarkers, monuments and me-morials. Griffith Rutherford,for whom Rutherford County isnamed is honored with a monu-ment. There is a Confedratememorial, recognizing thosewho lost their lives during theCivil War as well as a veteransmemorial.

Rutherford CountyArchives

Located at 435 Rice St. indowntown Murfreesboro, his-torians, genealogists and thecurious can find a treasuretrove of history at the 10,000-square-foot Rutherford CountyArchives. The archives con-sists of all the county’s perma-nent records — birth certifi-cates, death certificates, mar-riage licenses and tax docu-ments. The building includes5,000 square feet of climate-controlled space for records, areading room and a large roomdedicated to document restora-tion and preservation. The fa-cility is operated with the helpof graduate students fromMTSU and a variety of volun-teers from the community.

People walk the grounds and take portraits at Cannonsburgh Village.Located at 312 S. Front St. in downtown Murfreesboro, Cannonsburghis a reconstructed Southern village with a gristmill, one-roomschoolhouse, town hall, log home and church that was erected as partof the country’s 200th bicentennial in 1976. Events take place herethroughout the year, including Pioneer Days in April, Uncle DaveMacon Days old-time music festival in July and Harvest Days inOctober. • Online: www.murfreesborotn.org (select Recreation facilitiesand Cannonsburgh HELEN COMER/DNJ

Sites provide livinghistory lessons forchildren, touristsBy Doug Davis

ONLINEwww.rutherfordcountytn.gov/archives

Ariel Hammers, 12, and her sister Lesli, 14, wade in Maney Spring during a living history program atOaklands Historic House Museum. Built in the early 1800s, Oaklands served as a private residence for SallieMurfree Maney, the daughter of Revolutionary War Col. Hardy Murfree, and her husband Dr. James Maney.• Online: http://oaklandsmuseum.org/ HELEN COMER/DNJ

KEEPING THEPAST PRESENT

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A monument stands in the Stones River National Cemetery in solemntribute to the many men who sacrificed their lives on the Murfreesborobattlefield 150 years ago. HELEN COMER/DNJ

Visitors to the Stones River National Battlefield frequently stroll across land where soldiers stomped, sleptand sacrificed their lives. The Battle of Stones River began on the last day of 1862 and was one of thebloodiest conflicts of the Civil War. In the end, the battle produced important military and political gains forthe Union, especially as a lifeline with the railroad bearing supplies, and it was a jumping off point for theUnion to move onto Chattanooga and Chickamauga. Anniversary programs will kick off Dec. 26 andcontinue through Jan. 2. For more information, go to www.nps.gov/stri/ HELEN COMER/DNJ

Murfreesboro’s oldestschool, BradleyAcademy opened in1809 as a school forwhite males. Theinstitution can boast ofnurturing an alumnuswho became the 11thpresident of the UnitedStates in 1844 in theperson of James K. Polk.Bradley Academy laterbecame a school forblack children. Todaythe building serves as amuseum and culturalcenter and showcasesseveral historicalexhibits. Located at 415S. Academy St. inMurfreesboro, thecenter celebrated 200years of education inMarch 2009. In additionto the museum, thecenter serves as the siteof the annualJuneteenth StreetFestival in June and theHeritage Festival eachOctober.• Online: http://bradley-museum.com/ DNJ FILE

PHOTO

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Murfreesboro hasraised its share of authorsin its 200-year history, in-spiring writers of historyand fiction.

Contemporary writershave the benefit of beingable tobelongtoacommu-nity of artists for inspira-tion. MTSU’s Writers Loftand the MurfreesboroWriters Group, which op-erates a blog and Face-book page, are both avail-able to nurture authors’creativity.

19th century

The city’s most famousearly writer, Mary Mur-free, aka Charles EgbertCraddock, however, didnot have such a luxury.Disabled, she spent moretime reading than hermore physically activecontemporaries mighthave.

The great-grand-

daughter of the city’snamesake, Col. HardyMurfree, she was born in1850, and took on a malepseudonym to publish hermeticulously researchednovels and short stories.

A regular contributorto Atlantic Monthly, herhometown became the in-spiration for her celebrat-ed novel “Where the WarWas Fought.”

20th century

Another of Murfrees-boro’s most famous writ-ers, Henry GrantlandRice, concentrated his tal-ent on sports writing, buthe did it with a heroic flairthat earned him fame anda historic marker in hishometown.

Rice worked for TheTennessean before mov-ing to the Northeastwhere he gained his fame.

His most famous workinvolved a story about theNotre Dame vs. Army

game in1924. Published inthe New York Herald Tri-bune on Oct. 18, he de-scribed the Fighting Irishbackfield as the “FourHorsemen” of NotreDame.

Inspired by history

Many other contempo-rary Murfreesboro au-thors stick closer to homein their work, inspired bythe city’s past. The His-torical Society of Mur-freesboro is responsiblefor encouraging many ofthose writers, includinglocal historians MichaelBradley and Shirley Far-risJoneswhowrote“Mur-freesboro in the CivilWar.”

The Daily News Jour-nal columnist and local at-torney Greg Tucker hascollected details of localhistory in his books, “Re-membering Rutherford”and “Rutherford ... forReal.”

Rutherford...forReal andRememberingRutherford, byDaily NewsJournalcolumnist GregTucker, chroniclethe real people,places andevents thatmake this cityand county sounique. DNJ

Science fictionand fantasyauthor AndreNorton, whowrote thepopular "WitchWorld" series, isshown on Nov.30, 1999, amongthe books ofthe High HallackGenre Writer'sResearch andReferenceLibrary inMurfreesboro,which sheestablished.Norton diedMarch 17, 2005.GANNETT TENNESSEE

John Lodl,left, and BillSchacklettworkedtogether on abook of photosofMurfreesboro“Then & Now.”Here they holda picture of theHistoric Squarefrom the 1920s,while standingin the samespot in 2012.

KEEPING THE PAST PRESENT

Devora Butler looks over photos featured in her book, “African Americans in RutherfordCounty.” DNJ FILE PHOTO

Local authors put’Boro’s stories in printBy Sandee Suitt

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TN-0000840346

MTSU is committed to developing a communitydevoted to learning, growth, and service. We holdthese values dear, and there’s a simple phrase thatconveys them:“I am True Blue.”

“I am True Blue” and “True Blue” are theexpressions of MTSU’s brand. It represents a student-centric culture in all aspects of MTSU’s operations;the University’s standing as an accessible, affordableand quality institution; and its goal to provide theoptions and opportunities of a major comprehensiveuniversity while retaining small-college roots andapproaches to student success.Every new student at MTSU takes the True BluePledge at convocation. The pledge commits each

new Blue Raider to practice the core values ofhonesty and integrity; have respect for diversity;engage in the community; and commit to reason,not violence. For members of the faculty andadministration, pledging to be True Blue signals arenewed commitment to the success of students.In short, True Blue stands for the very best of whatBlue Raiders expect from one another.

MTSU, now more than a century old, offers terrificopportunities, exceptional value and a beautifulcampus. No wonder it is the No. 1 choice ofundergraduates in Tennessee, as well as the No. 1choice of our state’s transfer students and veterans.

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MTSU is an AA/EEO employer.

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I am True Blue and True Blueexpressions of MTSU’s brand. Itcentric culture in all aspects of Mthe University’s standing as an aand quality institution; and its goptions and opportunities of a muniversity while retaining small-approaches to student success.Every new student at MTSU takePledge at convocation. The pled

Amanda Terranova (‘13)Mass Communication

murfreesboro anniversary

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