Rutherford County Historic Courthouse Museum

Rutherford County’s Name honors Griffith Rutherford, an Irish immigrant who was a brigadier general in the Revolutionary War, a land grant commissioner, and a member of the Southwest Territory council. The state legislature established Rutherford County on October 25, 1803.

Murfreesboro was named for Colonel Hardy Murfree, a Revolutionary War soldier from North Carolina who acquired area land grants. The state legislature chartered the town in 1811 and county magistrates designated it as the county seat. From 1818 to 1826, Murfreesboro was the capital of Tennessee.