Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Murfreesboro is a city in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. The population was 152,769 at the 2020 census (estimated at 173,625 in 2025). Located 34 miles (55 km) southeast of downtown Nashville, it is part of the Nashville metropolitan area in Middle Tennessee.

Settled in 1811, Murfreesboro was the state capital of Tennessee from 1818 to 1826. Today, it is the largest suburb of Nashville and the sixth-most populous city in the state. The city is both the center of population and the geographic center of Tennessee. Since the 1990s, Murfreesboro has been Tennessee's fastest-growing major city and one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. Murfreesboro is home to Middle Tennessee State University, one of the largest undergraduate universities in the state.

History of Murfreesboro

On October 27, 1811, the Tennessee General Assembly designated the location for a new county seat for Rutherford County, giving it the name Cannonsburgh in honor of Newton Cannon, representative to the assembly for the local area. At the suggestion of William Lytle, it was renamed Murfreesborough on November 29, 1811, after Revolutionary War hero Colonel Hardy Murfree, great-grandfather of author Mary Noailles Murfree. The name was shortened to Murfreesboro in January 1812, when the town was formally chartered.

As Tennessee settlement expanded to the west, the location of the state capital in Knoxville became inconvenient for much of the population. In 1818, Murfreesboro was designated as the capital of Tennessee and its population boomed. Eight years later, however, it was superseded by Nashville.

On December 31, 1862, the Battle of Stones River, also called the Battle of Murfreesboro, was fought near the city between the Union Army of the Cumberland and the Confederate Army of Tennessee. This was a major engagement of the American Civil War, and between December 31 and January 2, 1863, the rival armies suffered a combined total of 23,515 casualties. It was the bloodiest battle of the war by percentage of casualties.

Following the Confederate retreat after the drawn Battle of Perryville in central Kentucky, the Confederate army moved through East Tennessee and turned northwest to defend Murfreesboro. General Braxton Bragg's veteran cavalry successfully harassed Union General William Rosecrans' troop movements, capturing and destroying many of his supply trains, but they could not completely prevent supplies and reinforcements from reaching Rosecrans. Despite the large number of casualties, the battle was inconclusive. It is usually considered a Union victory, since afterward, General Bragg retreated 36 miles (58 km) south to Tullahoma. Even so, the Union army did not move against Bragg until six months later, in June 1863. The battle was significant, since the Union gained a base from which it could push its eventual drive further south, which enabled its later advances against Chattanooga and Atlanta. The Union eventually divided the territory into the Eastern and Western theaters, followed by Sherman's March to the Sea through the South. The Stones River National Battlefield is now a national historical site.

General Rosecrans' move to the south depended on a secure source of provisions, and Murfreesboro was chosen for his supply depot. Soon after the battle, Brigadier General James St. Clair Morton, chief engineer of the Army of the Cumberland, was ordered to build Fortress Rosecrans, some 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of the town. The fortifications covered about 225 acres (0.91 km2) and were the largest built during the war. Fortress Rosecrans consisted of eight lunettes, four redoubts, and connecting fortifications. The fortress was built around the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad and the West Fork of the Stones River; two roads provided additional access and transportation.

The fort's interior was a huge logistical resource center, including sawmills, warehouses, quartermaster maintenance depots, ammunition magazines, and living quarters for the 2,000 men who handled the operations and defended the post. After the fortress was completed in June 1863, Rosecrans ventured to the south. The fortress was never attacked, in part because the Union troops held the town of Murfreesboro hostage by training their artillery on the courthouse. Major portions of the earthworks still exist and have been incorporated into the battlefield historic site.

Murfreesboro was first developed as a mainly agricultural community, but by 1853, the area was home to several colleges and academies. Despite the wartime trauma, the town's growth had begun to recover by the early 1900s, in contrast to other areas of the devastated South.

In 1911, the state legislature created Middle Tennessee State Normal School, a two-year institute to train teachers. It soon merged with the Tennessee College for Women. In 1925, the normal school was expanded to a full, four-year curriculum and college. With additional expansion of programs and addition of graduate departments in 1965, it became Middle Tennessee State University. MTSU now has the largest undergraduate enrollment in the state, including many international students.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 39.2 square miles (102 km2), of which 0.2 sq mi (0.52 km2), or 0.54%, is covered by water. As of 2013, however, the city reported its total area as 55.94 square miles (144.9 km2).

Murfreesboro is the geographic center of the state of Tennessee. A stone monument marks the official site on Old Lascassas Pike, about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) north of MTSU.

The West Fork of the Stones River flows through Murfreesboro. A walking trail, the Greenway, parallels the river for several miles. A smaller waterway, Lytle Creek, flows through downtown, including historic Cannonsburgh Village. Parts of the 19-mile-long (31 km) creek suffer from pollution due to the urban environment and its use as a storm-water runoff.

Murfreesboro is home to a number of natural and man-made lakes, plus several small wetlands, including Todd's Lake and the Murfree Spring wetland area.

Murfreesboro has been in the path of destructive tornadoes several times. On April 10, 2009, a low-end EF4 tornado with estimated wind speeds up to 170 miles per hour (270 km/h) struck the fringes of Murfreesboro. As a result, two people were killed and 41 others injured; 117 homes were totally destroyed, and 292 had major damage. The tornado is estimated to have caused over $40 million in damage.

Arts & culture

Murfreesboro hosts several music-oriented events annually, such as the Main Street Jazzfest presented by MTSU's School of Music and the Main Street Association each May. For over 30 years, Uncle Dave Macon Days has celebrated the musical tradition of Uncle Dave Macon. This annual July event includes national competitions for old-time music and dancing.

Murfreesboro also hosts an annual DIY not-for-profit music festival called Boro Fondo, which is also a bike tour and local artist feature.

The Murfreesboro Center for the Arts, close to the Square, entertains with a variety of exhibits, theatre arts, concerts, dances, and magic shows. Murfreesboro Little Theatre has provided the community with popular and alternative forms of theatre arts since 1962.

Murfreesboro's International FolkFest began in 1982, and is held annually during the second week in June. Groups from countries spanning the globe participate in the festival, performing traditional songs and dances while attired in regional apparel.

The Discovery Center at Murfree Spring is a nature center and interactive museum focusing on children and families. The facility includes 20 acres (8 ha) of wetlands with a variety of animals.

Bradley Academy Museum contains collectibles and exhibits of the first school in Rutherford County. This school was later renovated to become the only African American school in Murfreesboro, which closed in 1955.

Economy

According to Murfreesboro's 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in Rutherford County are:

Parks & recreation

Cannonsburgh Village is a reproduction of what a working pioneer village would have looked like from the period of the 1830s to the 1930s. Visitors can view the grist mill, school house, doctor's office, Leeman House, Caboose, Wedding Chapel, and other points of interest. It is also home to the World's Largest Cedar Bucket.

Old Fort Park is a 50-acre (200,000 m2) park which includes baseball fields, tennis courts, children's playground, an 18-hole championship golf course, picnic shelters and bike trail.

Barfield Crescent Park is a 430-acre (1,700,000 m2) facility with eight baseball fields, 7 miles (11 km) of biking/running trails, an 18-hole championship disc golf course, and ten picnic shelters.

Murfreesboro Greenway System is a system of greenways with 12 miles (19 km) of paved paths and 11 trail heads. In 2013, the city council approved a controversial 25-year "master plan" to extend the system by adding 173 miles (278 km) worth of new greenways, bikeways and blueways at an estimated cost of $104.8 million.

Education

Elementary education within the city is overseen by Murfreesboro City Schools (MCS). MCS focuses on prekindergarten through sixth grade learning. The city has 12 schools serving 8,800 students between grades pre-K through 6th.

Secondary schools are overseen by Rutherford County Schools, which has 50 schools and a student population of over 49,000.

The Japanese Supplementary School in Middle Tennessee (JSMT, 中部テネシー日本語補習校 Chūbu Teneshī Nihongo Hoshūkō), a weekend Japanese education program, holds its classes in Peck Hall at Middle Tennessee State University, while its school offices are in Jefferson Square.

Notable people

Ronnie Alsup (1955–2014), paralympic athlete and standing volleyball player

Jerry Anderson (1953–1989), football player

Rankin Barbee (1874–1958), journalist and author

Ronnie Barrett (born 1954), firearms manufacturer

Raymond Berry (1933–2026), NFL player and coach

Rex Brothers (born 1987), former Major League Baseball pitcher

Elizabeth Childress Brown (1842–1919), First Lady of Tennessee and President General of the United Daughters of the Confederacy

James M. Buchanan (1919–2013), economist

Bryan M. Clayton - businessman and real estate investor, CEO and cofounder of GreenPal

Reno Collier, stand-up comedian

Crystal Dangerfield (born 1998), Los Angeles Sparks point guard

Marisa Davila (born 1997), actress and singer

Colton Dixon (born 1991), singer

Will Allen Dromgoole, (1860–1934), author and poet

Harold Earthman (1900–1987), politician

Mary Ann Eckles (born 1947), politician

Corn Elder (born 1994), football player

Jeff Givens (died 2013), horse trainer

Bart Gordon (born 1949), politician and lawyer

Francis Avent Gumm (1886–1935), vaudevillian, theater manager, and father of Judy Garland

Joe Black Hayes (1915–2013), football player

James Sanders Holman (1804–1867), 1st mayor of Houston, Texas

Montori Hughes (born 1990), football player