Explore Rutherford County

Fortress Rosecrans was constructed in early 1863 by Union troops occupying Murfreesboro following the Battle of Stones River.

This earthen fortification served as a 200-acre depot used to supply troops as they marched to Atlanta. Today the National Park Service manages the site.

Once the center of a 1,500-acre plantation, Oaklands was the home of the Maney family. The house was built in four phases during a 40-year period. Oaklands eventually was transformed into an Italianate mansion with the fourth and final addition in 1857, just a few years before the beginning of the Civil War.

Sam Davis was a young Confederate Civil War soldier who, while acting as a courier, was tried and executed at the age of 21 for refusing to reveal the source of important information he was carrying.

The Sam Davis Home, which was built along the banks of Stewarts Creek around 1810 by Moses Ridley and renovated in 1850 by the Davis family, rests on 160 acres of farmland. The two-story home is typical of a Southern, upper-middle-class family home of those times.

A tour includes a documentary video about the life of Sam Davis and a tour through the nine-room main house, original kitchen, smokehouse, overseer's office and privy. Authentic Middle Tennessee slave dwellings can be seen on the site.

Stones River National Battlefield is a 650-acre national park and cemetery dedicated to preserving the memory of those who fought and died in this crucial Civil War battle. Living history demonstrations are presented on the weekends during the summer months with a special encampment featured in July. The visitor center offers a museum and orientation program.

Daily programs and exhibits include:

Tennessee Live: Discover the aquatic world in our living stream table, hold ancient sea creatures and enjoy a visit with our live animals.

Newton's Loft: Lift your friends with a giant pulley, invent your own simple machine and make a full-body impression on the pinscreen.

Creation Station: Paint, sculpt, draw and participate in art projects all day.

Take a fun motorized tour through the multi-billion-dollar manufacturing plant which produces several of the top Nissan vehicles, including the all-electric LEAF. See all parts of the vehicle assembly process, from cutting large sheets of steel to painting the exterior and installing carpet. 

The Murfreesboro Greenway is a 10-mile paved handicap-accessible trail system that borders the Stones River and Lytle Creek. Features two canoe access points, four fishing piers and two spur trails—one to Stones River National Battlefield and one to the Gateway Island. Walking, running, bicycling and in-line skating are allowed.

The Tennessee Livestock Center was built in 1988 on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University. The 155,000-square-foot arena seats 4,000 and has 214 stalls. The center draws more than 100,000 people annually from across the United States for a wide array of livestock shows and sales, rodeos, equestrian events and festivals that take place here almost every weekend.

Bradley Academy was built in 1917 as a school for African Americans. A school by that name has been in Murfreesboro and on that site since 1811.

President James K. Polk was a graduate of the original Bradley Academy in 1814. This National Register building serves as a multi-use cultural and heritage facility.

Cannonsburgh, the original name of Murfreesboro, is a reconstructed Southern village. The village serves as a living history museum of early Southern life.

Cannonsburgh Village includes:
• Gristmill
• One-room schoolhouse
• Town hall
• Log home
• Little white country church
• Large collection of antique farm equipment
• General store
• Museum
• Blacksmith's shop

In 1834, it was determined that the geographic center of Tennessee is located on Old Lascassas Road, one mile from the Middle Tennessee State University campus.

The Rutherford County Historical Society marked the spot with an obelisk in 1976.

Murfreesboro is a participant in the National Main Street program for historic preservation and economic development. Stroll the Murfreesboro downtown square with its specialty shops, restaurants and offices. Take a walking tour along East Main Street with its homes of neoclassical, Italianate and Victorian architecture.

Located on the Murfreesboro downtown square, the Rutherford County Courthouse is one of only six remaining Tennessee courthouses built before the Civil War. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significant architecture and its political and military history. The interior of the courthouse has been restored to its 19th-century appearance.

Discover the stories of Murfreesboro’s downtown square and the historic Rutherford County Courthouse through exhibits, public programming and guided tours of the square. Current exhibits include:

The Time that Changed Everything

Entering the Modern Era

Place Names of Rutherford County

Community Building Blocks