Tour - Rutherford County Courthouse Museum Tour

Rutherford County Courthouse Museum Tour

Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37130, United States

Created By: The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County

Tour Information

Rutherford County, named for Revolutionary War Gen. Griffith Rutherford, was established in 1803. Murfreesboro became the county seat in 1811; soon after, Col. William Lytle donated land for the public square.

The ca. 1858 Greek Revival-style courthouse is one of only six remaining antebellum courthouses in Tennessee. During the Civil War, Union soldiers occupied the courthouse and square, using the cupola to watch for threats. On July 12, 1862, Confederate troops under C.S. Col. Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked the Union forces here. Forrest forced U.S. Col. William W. Duffield to surrender, temporarily ending Murfreesboro’s occupation.

On December 31, 1862, C.S. Gen. Braxton Bragg’s army clashed with U.S. Gen. William S. Rosecrans’s forces at the nearby Battle of Stones River. Rosecrans prevailed, and the Union Army reoccupied Murfreesboro for the remainder of the war.

In 1863, the Union Army recruited African American men in Murfreesboro for the United States Colored Troops (USCT). The 13th USCT marched downtown before leaving to fight in the Battle of Nashville, carrying a regimental battle flag presented by an organization of African American women known as the Colored Ladies of Murfreesboro.

In 1920, Sara Spence DeBow and other women gathered signatures here supporting woman suffrage; anti-suffragists also protested here after Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment. In the 1950s, Murfreesboro preservationist Sarah King led the fight to save and restore the grand historic courthouse (then slated for demolition).

Today, the courthouse houses the county museum. Step inside to visit outstanding exhibits, view unique artifacts, and view The Pride of Tennessee mural featuring prominent figures in Tennessee history.

Tour Map

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What You'll See on the Tour

Rutherford County Courthouse Museum

Welcome to the Rutherford County Historic Courthouse Museum! This museum is an ongoing partnership between the Rutherford County Archives and the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University. The artifacts on displ... Read more

The Pride of Tennessee mural

The Pride of Tennessee is a 6' x 8' oil painting by Michael Sloan. A sister painting hangs in the old Supreme Court Room in the Tennessee State Capitol. The painting features eleven Tennesseeans notable for their unique contributions to the... Read more

Courthouse Original Clockworks

These are the original clockworks from the Tower Clock built into the Rutherford County Courthouse in 1860, before the Civil War had started. The clockworks survived the Civil War battle fought around the courthouse, occupation, and the dev... Read more

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 al... Read more

The Civil War and Its Aftermath

By 1860, four out of ten people in Rutherford County were enslaved African Americans. The county’s free Black population had remained about 200 since 1810. Much of Rutherford County’s economy depended on the unpaid labor of the enslaved... Read more

Business and Entertainment Around the Square

One of the most common and controversial types of businesses in downtown Murfreesboro were saloons, with thirteen around the square in 1887. These establishments served food and drink, as well as “to-go” liquor in reusable ceramic jugs.... Read more

Education, Health and Welfare in 20th Century Rutherford County

In 1907, the Tennessee College for Women opened at 701 East Main Street. The school served white women and girls of all ages, offering classes in subjects such as music, drama, health, and physical education. In 1910, the school began hosti... Read more

World War II to Civil Rights

Rutherford County was very involved with the war effort during World War II. In addition to the hundreds of men and women from the area who served in the military, Murfreesboro also took in wounded veterans at the newly constructed Vetera... Read more

Preserving the Courthouse and Exit to Memorials

Exit through the doors to view the outdoor memorials and enjoy the downtown square! The Rutherford County Courthouse was built in 1859 and is one of Tennessee’s six remaining pre-Civil War courthouses. In the 1950s, due to lack of office ... Read more

General Griffith Rutherford memorial

General Griffith Rutherford (1721-1805) was an Irish-born statesman and Revolutionary War veteran, and an important figure in the early history of the Southwest Territory and the state of Tennessee. He entered the Revolutionary War in 1... Read more

Murfreesboro - Capital of Tennessee marker

Authorized by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1949, this marker highlights Murfreesboro's brief tenure as the capital of Tennessee from June 1, 1818 to April 30, 1826.Murfreesboro was named the capital of Tennessee in 1818 because of it... Read more

Veteran's Memorial

Murfreesboro’s Veterans’ Memorial was originally dedicated on Memorial Day 1948 to honor local residents who had been killed in the first and second World Wars. In 1977, an addition was made to either side of the earlier memorial to hon... Read more

Confederate memorial

Murfreesboro’s Confederate monument was dedicated in November 1901 to the Confederate soldiers who fought at the Battle of Stones River. Funds for the monument were raised by the Daughters of the Confederacy, the Sons of Confederate Veter... Read more

The Well

This reconstructed public well was constructed between 1818 and 1824. The well’s completion was delayed because of a destructive fire that resulted in all of Murfreesboro’s wooden chimneys being torn down and replaced with stone chimne... Read more