Early Settlement

For thousands of years various Indigenous groups have lived in Middle Tennessee. By the early 1700s, Native peoples had abandoned permanent, large-scale settlement of the area, although the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Creek nations all used land in Middle Tennessee for hunting grounds. One of these hunting camps was in present-day Murfreesboro and was controlled by the Cherokee chief known as Black Fox.

After Tennessee gained statehood in 1796, people began to move westward through the state, settling in Middle Tennessee with their families and enslaved workers. Rutherford County was chartered in 1803 after new settlers petitioned the General Assembly. As the county’s population began to shift south of Stones River, Murfreesboro grew in importance. In 1812, Murfreesboro became the Rutherford County seat, taking over from the original county seat of Jefferson.

From 1818 to 1826, Murfreesboro served as Tennessee’s state capital. In 1822, the legislature met at the Presbyterian Church, which was located at the present-day Old City Cemetery.

In 1825, what would become Murfreesboro’s longest-operating all-female school opened. Originally called the Female Academy, the school offered classes to white girls in subjects such as philosophy, painting, needlework, and music. In 1852, the Academy renamed itself Soule College after a Methodist bishop. Notable students include Willie Betty Newman, who became a prominent member of Tennessee’s art community around the turn of the century, and Jean Faircloth MacArthur, wife of General Douglas MacArthur.

In October 1838, 12,000 Creek and Cherokee people passed through Murfreesboro and Jefferson on a forced removal now known as the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears began after passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830, and between 1830 and 1850 the United States government forcibly relocated tens of thousands of Native Americans to the West. The journey was often difficult, and the march through Middle Tennessee resulted in the deaths of more than 400 Native Americans.

This room contains artifacts including early samplers, furniture made by Middle Tennessee craftspeople, and portaits by the famed Tennessee artist Washington Bogart Cooper.