You probably already know that I put together a local history book that was published in 2006. The book contains lots of old postcard views from Murfreesboro's past paired with short descriptions and relevant data about each view. From the time Arcadia agreed to publish with me, I had six months to complete the project. So, the research was intense. I found varied accounts of historical events and sometimes even found things published that were not true. As hard as I tried to get every detail correct in my book, I've found slight error in a couple of things that I had published too. Below will be the list of corrections. Accessible here to you so you might have the chance to take note or even correct it in your copy of the book. I've marked my copy with red ink and made the corrections at the bottom of the page. Whatever your method, I'm sure it will work fine. It's in all of our best interests that history be recorded as accurately as possible. If you notice anything that you think might be incorrect in my book I welcome you to contact me through email. You'll have to dig hard. These two things are all I've found so far. Thanks for being interested in local history!
#1 Page 86 top view, The Nashville and Chattanooga railroad did later connect to Missouri but it never connected to North Carolina.
#2 Page 29 bottom view, The old Goldstein's building is now owned by Rutherford County, not the City of Murfreesboro.
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Barry Lamb has created a new book that will thrill anyone who's interested in Murfreesboro history. His new book" Images of 19th Century Rutherford County: Its Homes and People" is fresh off the presses. Barry stopped by my house last week to share an old photo of Ira David Miller. He's the fellow who built the buildings on the square at 110-112 South Maple Street. 112 being the building I'm currently remodeling. Anyway, back to the book. Barry let me know that he'd used the picture in his recent publication. I'm familiar with the project he was working on and asked how it was coming along. To my surprise he told me that it was finished and that he had some with him in the car. I jumped on my chance to buy a copy from him. I first met Barry at C.B. Annette's house about a year and a half ago. A group of historians was invited to C.B.'s that night to introduce each others project. C.B. was the common thread of this whole gathering. Barry Lamb, Matt Ward, Michelle Russell, C.B., and myself were all writing at the time. Barry's research was by far the most interesting to me. Instead of a general topic, it seemed that Barry's research was all over the place. It seemed all encompassing and I could tell he'd been at it for a long time, leaving no stone unturned. Well, Barry has finished his task and has created what is certainly the finest collection of early Rutherford County photographs and information ever to be published. Ever wondered what Hardy Murfree or William Lytle looked like. Paintings and photographs in Barry's book show you the faces and the homes of Murfreesboro's founders and much much more. If you'd like to find a copy for yourself, they can be purchased at "Sisco's" beauty shop, located on North Church Street, off of the square, next to a flower shop named, "The Flower Center". The book retails for $60.00 and I think it's worth every penny.
One of the greatest and most well known structures in Rutherford County is the Murfreesboro courthouse. Built in 1859, it was witness to the war between the states. This photo below shows Union soldiers camped on the lawn.
This year actually marks a centennial for the courthouse. In 1907 the building underwent a major remodeling. The history books don't contain much information about this remodel. It seems that one of the biggest reasons for the remodel was to add a third floor to the building. Much effort went into rebuilding the windows so that they could accomodate this change. The middle two columns on the East and West sides of the building were moved outward to create a larger opening as one walked toward the doors. The roof was also changed from a hip roof to a flat one, but the most obvious change of all the work done in 1907 was the replacement of the cupola. The original looked very similar to the cupola on the Tennessee State Capitol building which was built in 1855. The new cupola was a beautiful addition to the newly remodeled courthouse and it must have reflected to the citizens of Murfreesboro that they were living in a town that was recovering from all the hardships they had lived through in the prior century. Today in 2007 we have enetered into yet another century where change is obvious yet again. Our town is growing at an unprecedented rate and it seems that the whole country has found out that a great quality of life can be had in the geographic center of Tennessee. The next time you are downtown and you look up to the cupola of the courthouse to check the time, I hope you can reflect back to 1907 when this jewel of architecture was proudly presented to the citizens of Rutherford County.
