murfreesboro 200th anniversary - who we are

HistorianGregTuckerrecounts

the story of OURFORGOTTENFOUNDERS

PHOTO COURTESY OF LINEBAUGH LIBRARY

Contents

2 • THE DAILY NEWS JOURNAL

88

Census numberstell the tale ofMurfreesboro’sgrowth

Census numberstell the tale ofMurfreesboro’sgrowth

MTSU freshman Tammy Li of China gets her picture taken with her certificate of citizenship after becoming a U.S. citizenduring a naturalization ceremoney at MTSU's Murphy Center Monday, Sept. 17, 2012.

44

Faith has long played an importantrole in Murfreesboro’s history

1010Historic school houses to teaching colleges

1512 Military heroes:

A photo gallery

6

Murfreesboro’s militaryruns the gamut: from theCivil War to the Gulf War

THE DAILY NEWS JOURNAL • 3

There is nothing greater than adeep relationship with God theFather. Every person shouldknow exactly who God is andwhat He can do for them.

Every Christian should begrowing continually, and itis special to be part of a

church where you can growalong with other Christians.

Jesus Christ left us witha command to reach theworld. The church existsin order to tell othersabout Jesus Christ.

Dr. Mike NorrisPASTOR

Franklin Road Baptist Church

Sunday School 10 AM | Morning Service 11 AM | Evening Service 6:30 PM | Wednesdays 7 PM3148 Franklin Road | Murfreesboro, TN 37128 | 615.890.0820 | www.frbc.com

KNOWING GOD GROWING TOGETHER SHOWING OTHERS

est. 1954

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Celebrating200 Yearsof Growth

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From Cannonsburgh to The Avenue, from agriculture tomanufacturing, Murfreesboro has seen a few changes inits 200-year history. A rich history, our music, our peopleand so much more combine to make this a great placeto work, live and play – today and for years to come.

We’re proud to join in Murfreesboro’sBicentennial Celebration and look forwardto an exciting future.

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Tennessee becamea state in1796, andRutherford Coun-ty was formed

fromseveral surroundingcounties, including Da-vidson, Sumner and Wil-son in 1803.

Very few Tennesseecounties have all of theirfederal census counts onfile. The state’s territorialcensus schedules and the1800 census were lost ordestroyed, and with theexception of Rutherfordand part of GraingerCounty, files from 1810are also missing.

Robert Lee of the Ten-nessee State Library andArchives said no censusnumbers for Murfrees-boro are available prior to1850.In1830,censusinfor-mationwas listedbycoun-ty and, in1840, onlymajorcities were set apart.

Nashville was consid-eredthestate’s lonemajorcity at that time.

Growing in spurts

The earliest data fromthe U.S. Census countedjust1,917citizens residingin Murfreesboro’s citylimits in 1850, with justsmall increments ofgrowth seen each year. Itwasn’t until around 1920when the city finallytopped 5,000 residents.

Thirty years later, thecity’spopulationhadnear-ly tripled with a count of13,052.

Population booms in ’Boro

By MealandRagland-Hudgins

More than 400 Riverdale graduates prepare to receive their diplomas during a commencement ceremony at MTSU's Murphy Center on May 20,2012 in Murfreesboro. Murfreesboro’s population swelled to more than 108,000 as of the 2010 federal census. GANNETT TENNESSEE FILE PHOTO

City remainedsmall for muchof first century

OURPEOPLE


Each decade until1980, the city added be-tween 5,000 and 7,500new residents. ButMur-freesboro’s populationreally began to take offin 1980, growing bynearly12,100newbodiesby 1990. Close to 24,000residents were addedbetween 1990 and 2000,and another 40,000 fol-lowed by 2010.

Reasons to grow

In the last decade-plus, Murfreesboro andRutherford Countyhave made several na-tional lists for livability,including Money Maga-zine in 2006.

Proximity to Nash-ville, major interstates,ample jobs and a majoruniversity are all con-tributing factors.

Firefighter Capt. Joe Bell collects census information from GeorgeZachery during a door-to-door count. DNJ FILE PHOTO

MURFREESBOROBY THE NUMBERSU.S.Census numbers tell the storyabout Murfreesboro’s growth froma small farming community of justa few thousand residents to today’sbustling community of more than108,000 people.

1850186018701880189019001920193019401950196019701980199020002010

1,9172,8613,5023,8003,7393,9995,3677,9939,49513,05218,99126,36032,84544,92268,816108,755

SOURCE: AMERICANFACTFINDER.ORG

Murfreesboro today extends well beyond the Public Square, as seenin this photo from atop the NHC building. JOHN A. GILLIS/DNJ


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FourmenofRuther-fordCounty chosethe location for the

new townofMurfrees-borough, negotiated andconcluded thepropertypurchase, laid out theearliest streets and lots,sold the first lots to fi-nancedevelopment ofthenewcounty seat,designed andbuilt thefirst courthouse and jail,andgoverned thenewtown for its first year.

But they seldomgetcredit for their efforts.

The SurveyorHughRobinson (vari-

ous spellings)was a sur-veyor andRutherfordCounty commissionerduring the county’s firsttwodecades.Althoughhe owned437 acres nearJefferson, hevotedwiththemajority andwassubsequently given thetask of surveying andplatting thenew town.(Robinson, as the town’soriginal surveyor,waslikely responsible in partfor including about 20acres thatWilliamLytledid not ownandcouldnotlegally transfer.)

Stewarts Creek FarmerOwenEdwardsbuilt a

homeonStewartsCreekin1787 andeventuallyowned several hundredacres andanumber of

slaves.His namewas onthepetition to createRutherfordCounty, andhewas one of the firsttown lot purchaserswhenJeffersonwasestablished as the countyseat. Edwards served asa county commissionerandas a captain in thecountymilitia.

LandDealerHanceHamilton, a

resident ofGuilfordCounty,N.C., in1794 tooktitle to 4,800 acres in theeasternpart ofwhatbecameRutherfordCounty. This tractwasthewhole of aNorthCarolina grantwhichcame toHamiltonthroughThomasHamil-ton, anheir ofRevolu-tionaryWar surgeonHanceHamilton.

The land lay onbothsides of theStoneRiverand included themouthofCrippleCreek.

While still inNorthCarolina,Hamilton soldportions of the tract toJohnSloss, JosephWhite,SamuelBell and Isaac

Wright. Tax recordsindicate thatHamilton’stotal landholdings in-creased anddiminishedfromyear-to-year.Hispropertieswere locatedin both east andwestsections of the county.

Heappears to havearrived inRutherford inabout1806.During thecounty’s seconddecade,Hamilton served as acounty commissionerand state legislator.

TheColonelJohnThompsonwas

one of the earliest set-tlers inwhat becameRutherfordCounty, buy-ing and selling landsoriginally granted toRevolutionaryveterans.While the areawas still apart ofDavidsonCounty,Thompson served as aroad overseerworkingwithWilliamLytle andThomasRucker. Thomp-sonwas among the origi-nal petitioners for forma-tion ofRutherfordCoun-ty in1803.

WithCharlesReady in1804, Thompsonpresidedover the first session oftheRutherfordCountyCourt. In1806 the statenamedhimas one of fiveoriginal trustees forBradleyAcademy.

Greg Tucker can be reached [email protected].

Forgotten FoundersSome seldom get credit for Murfreesborough’s beginnings

GREG TUCKER


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MURFREES-BORO —Church lifehas been a

major part of local cul-ture since Murfrees-boro was established200 years ago.

From First Presby-terian Church, whichwas organized in 1812,to African-Americanchurches such as AllenChapel A.M.E. foundedin 1860 and pre CivilWar congregations like

Key United Methodist,Christianity was a cor-nerstone for the com-munity.

“I think, clearly, thiscongregation and othercongregations withinMurfreesboro ... arewoven into the threadof our community. Ourstories are clearly con-nected to the stories ofthis city,” says the Rev.John Hinkle Jr., pastorat First Presbyterian,located at 210 N. SpringSt.

Murfreesboro hasalways been home to avariety of denomina-tions, too, mostly themajor five: Presbyteri-an, Methodist, Churchof Christ, Baptist andEpiscopal. Allen Cha-pel A.M.E. (AfricanMethodist Episcopal),established in 1860, hasroots in several denom-inations.

“(Church) was veryimportant to those peo-ple. They worked hardfor everything and thecountry was foundedon Christian princi-ples,” says Mintie Wel-chance, administrativeassistant at East MainStreet Church ofChrist, which was es-tablished in 1833 andfirst met in a log cabinon Lytle Street beforemoving to its currentlocation in 1859, whenthe lot was purchased.

Worship servicesweren’t the only assem-

Diverse faiths enrichcity’s past and present

Churches woven intofabric of the community

OUR FAITH

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church was constructed on Spring Street in 1897.The actual building was moved in 1926 to its present location at 315E. Main St. and covered in a stone veneer. NANCY DE GENNARO/DNJ

COURTESY RUTHERFORD COUNTY ARCHIVES

Central Christian is located at 404 E.Main St. Its golden dome is a notedfeature. NANCY DE GENNARO/DNJ

East Main Church ofChrist on Main Street indowntownMurfreesboro is shownas it stands today. HELENCOMER/DNJ

By Nancy De Gennaro


blies in churches, either.Many have been usedfor multiple purposesover the years.

“(First Presbyterian)is the only church thathas been used as a statecapital (where the Ten-nessee General Assem-bly met between 1818and 1826),” Hinkle says.“That’s amazing in andof itself, and also con-sider people also wor-shiped here — (presi-dents) James K. Polk ...Andrew Jackson —that’s pretty neat,” Hin-kle says.

First Presbyteriancelebrated 200 yearsearlier this year andHinkle says the churchmission is the same, andthat’s why the congrega-tion has endured. “Itsmembers had vision forserving this communityand that vision remainstoday,” Hinkle says.

African-Americancommunities embracedreligion, too. First Bap-tist Church, East CastleStreet, was begun in theearly 1860s by ex-slaveand Baptist ministerNelson Merry. Eventu-ally the congregationmoved to the formerproperty of the whiteBaptist church, whichwas located at the cor-ner of Spring and Sevierstreets.

During the Civil War,the building was used asa hospital and later as aschool, where bothwhite and black chil-dren attended. Urbanrenewal took the histor-ic building and theymoved to the located onEast Castle.

During the earlyyears of First Baptist,several members with-drew and formedMt. Ol-ive Baptist Church,which later became Mt.Zion Baptist, now locat-ed on the corner of Ma-ple and Lytle streets.

The culture of churchremains strong through-out Murfreesboro.

Note: Information from theRutherford County Archives

Farris Chapel United Methodist Church in the Barfield community is over 100 years old.HELEN COMER/DNJ

First Baptist Churchwas once locatedon property at thecorner of Sevierand Spring streets.That building wastorn down duringurban renewal andthe congregationmoved to itspresent location at738 E. Castle St.

Central Christian Churchon Main Street inMurfreesboro is shown.HELEN COMER/DNJ

First Presbyterian Church, now located at 210 N. SpringSt., was originally erected on the site where theMurfreesboro City Cemetery is located. The churchcelebrated its bicentennial this year. DNJ

Now home to Mid-South Bank, the building at the cornerof East College and Church streets is the former home toFirst United Methodist Church. The original building waserected in 1888. HELEN COMER/DNJ

Allen Chapel A.M.E.(African MethodistEpiscopal) wasestablished in 1860 andis the oldestAfrican-Americancongregation inMurfreesboro.Thebuilding at 224 S.Maney Ave. wasdedicated in 1889.NANCY DE GENNARO/DNJ

The late afternoon sunilluminates historic Mt. ZionMissionary Baptist Church onMaple Street. HELEN COMER/DNJ

Education has tradi-tionallybeenapriori-ty in RutherfordCounty, long before

AndrewJacksonwas electedgovernor in 1853. ThoughJackson’sadministrationhada heavy emphasis on publiceducation,Murfreesboroandoutlying areas were alreadyhome to several schools.

Nineteenth-centuryschools included BradleyAcademy, establishedaround 1811 as an elite whitemale school. It was attendedbyfuturePresidentJamesK.Polk. Polk graduated in 1814and delivered the com-mencement address that

year. After the Civil War, theFreedman's Bureau came intohelpblackswithschoolandhelped build communities.By 1884, the school on SouthAcademy Street was specifi-cally set aside for the educa-tion of Murfreesboro’s blackstudents.

Construction of the cur-rent building began in 1917and, when Bradley opened ayear later, itwashome to ele-mentary and high school stu-dents. It served as somewhatof a community center, withan orchestra, glee club andheraldedsports teams.WhenHolloway opened in 1928,Bradley reverted to servingelementary students until1960andoperationsmovedto

a new campus on MercuryBoulevard.

Since 2000, the SouthAcademy Street site hasserved as a museum high-lighting national and localblackhistory.

High schools built

The 1909 Education Actled to the establishment ofseven public high schools inRutherford County, includ-ing Rockvale, Smyrna, Kit-trell, Eagleville, Murfrees-boro, Christiana and Lascas-sas. The seven schools had acombined enrollment of 299students who paid $6.49 amonth to attend.

Today, Murfreesboro is

Education thrived from Bradley to MTSU

OUR SCHOOLS

City made education anearly, ongoing priorityByMealand Ragland-Hudgins

The Campus School, used as a training ground for future educators attending Middle Tennessee Normal College, was located in the basement of the college’sadministration building, known on the MTSU campus today as Kirksey Old Main. MTSU COLLEGE OF EDUCATION PHOTO

Bradley Academy’sclass of 1919, thefirst to graduatefrom the school onSouth AcademyStreet, is shown.

Long before school buses wereused to transport students,wagons were the preferred modeof transportation. LINEBAUGH LIBRARY

HISTORICAL RESEARCH COLLECTION



home to two school systems—Murfreesboro City and Ruth-erfordCounty schools.

The city system — 30th insize based on student enroll-ment of 136 school systems inTennessee — has about 7,200studentsandanoperatingbud-get of about $54 million for2012-13.Itisoneofonlythreeinthe state that follows the K-6grade structure. Murfrees-boro City operates 12 schools,including a preschool withthree locations.

Rutherford County is thesixth largest district in thestate according to the 2012state report card. It has 39,941students in grades K-12, butalsosupportsaPre-Kprogramat13 other schools. RCShas anoperating budget of $280 mil-lion and runs 45 schools, withanotherunderconstruction.

McFaddenSchool

McFadden School is thefirst in the county to be namedafter a woman. Elvie McFad-denworked among the poor inher neighborhood. Before herdeath in 1925, she started achurch and was promised aschool named in her honor. In1927, the schoolwasbuilt.

Since then, it has fallen vic-timtofourfires.Ayearafter itopened, two classrooms andthe auditoriumwere damagedand the school burned to the

ground in 1932 following astove fire. Arsonwas believedtobethecauseofa1939fire. In1953, four classes were dam-agedby fire.

TeachersatMcFaddenthenalso served as cafeteria work-ers. If they prepared soup forthemselves using an in-roomstove, they also gave some tostudentstheyknewmaynotre-ceiveahotmeal at home.

The school is located todayonBridgeAvenue.

CampusSchool

WhenMTSU,thenknownasMiddleTennesseeNormalCol-lege,openedin1911,anelemen-tary school was located in theadministration building on theuniversity’scampus.KnownasCampusSchool, theschoolwascreated as a laboratory schoolfor the university’s EducationDepartment by an act of theGeneralAssembly in1909.

The school was officiallynamedHomerPittardCampusSchoolin1985aftertheRuther-ford County educatorwho hadserved as principal at McFad-den and Central High schoolsand director of university af-fairs atMTSU.

CentralHigh

When local school officialsopened Central High in 1919,they were determined to give

students the best educationpossible. A community an-nouncement sent out the thesummer before the academicyearbeganread:

“It is our purpose to makethishighschooloneofthelead-ers among those of its kindthroughout the state. No painsand effort will be spared toreach thisworthyend.”

Upon its opening, Centralwasconsidered as the most

modern in the state with 16classrooms, cloakrooms, a li-brary, bicycle room and 800-seat auditorium. One of themost impressive featureswere the sanitary drinkingfountainslocatedoneachfloor.

Students were so commit-ted to attending school, thattheywouldboardtrains inFos-tervilleandChristianaandrideinto town. Central burned tothe groundMarch 30,1944, be-

fore being rebuilt. Those whoattended CHS all four yearswere moved to different loca-tions. In the fall of 1944, fresh-men students attended classesin Cox Memorial Gymnasiumand at Crichlow School (onproperty now occupied by theRutherfordCountyHealthDe-partment). Grades 10-12 at-tendedclassesatMTSU.

Today Central is a magnetschool.

This postcard shows the exterior of Central High School prior to it being destroyed by a fire in 1944.

The caption on this 1910 postcard reads, “TheMurfreesboro School for Boys, also known as theMooney School, was built in 1903. The large schoolbuilding has been demolished, but the smallerdormitory still stands at 1028 East Main Street.”

This postcard shows what Murfreesboro Public School looked like while in operation from 1891 to1922. This school was the basis of the Murfreesboro City Schools system.


MURFREES-BORO — Fromthe Battle ofStones River

during the Civil War toconflicts in Afghanistanand Iraq, Murfreesborohas been there to defendour country’s freedom.

A list of those whohave given their lives inservice to the UnitedStates during World WarI, World War II, Viet-nam, the Korean War,Afghanistan and Iraqare listed on memorialson the Public Square out-side of the RutherfordCounty Courthouse.

Another monumenton the square honors theConfedarate dead fromthe Civil War. UnitedStates casualties fromthe Civil War are buriedin the near the StonesRiver National Ceme-tery on Old NashvilleHighway. Others are in-terred in Evegreen Cem-etery.

A few soldiers fromthe Revolutionary Warare buried in the old CityCemetery on VineStreet.

A VeteransMemorial,dedicated in 2009, alsohonors veterans on theMTSU campus outsidethe Tom Jackson Build-ing. Each fall, veteransare recognized duringhalftime of an MTSUfootball game as part ofa Salute to Armed Ser-vices/ Veteran’ Day pro-gram. Veterans walkacross the field as theirbranch of service’s mil-

itary song is played bythe MTSU Band of Blue.This year’s event isscheduled for Oct. 27.

Today, the TennesseeNational Guard’s 269thMilitary Police Co.,based in Murfreesboro,has served several toursof duty in Iraq.

The militaryand MTSU

MTSU has a long rela-tionship with the mili-tary and defending theRed, White and Blue.

According to histori-an Homer Pittard, in1917-18, several years af-ter the founding of theMiddle Tennessee Nor-mal School, some213“Normalites” served inWorld War I. A StudentArmy Training Corpsand a machine gun regi-ment formed from theuniversity’s studentbody.

“The regiment drilledon campus, and appar-

ently they were veryloud and boisterous,”said Derek Frisby, asso-ciate professor of histo-ry and a veteran of theU.S. Marine Corps him-self, having served inDesert Shield and Des-ert Storm in the early1990s and in the PanamaCanal Zone.

As with all wars,World War I cost thelives of several Ameri-can soldiers from theNormal School.

“We know theyserved largely in Europeand at least five of themdied, including the au-thor of the original almamater (W.J. McCon-nell),” Frisby said.

In 1940, civilian pilottraining was introducedwith an airstrip on cam-pus. Between 1941-44,772 Middle TennesseeState College (newlynamed in 1943) studentsserved in World War II.Male students almostcompletely disappeared

OURMILITARY

City’s residentsanswer the call

A print shows the Union artillery behind infantry lines firing at Confederate troops onthe far right during the Battle of Stones River, Dec. 31, 1862. RUTHERFORD COUNTY ARCHIVES

HISTORICAL IMAGE COLLECTION

Confederate Civil War Veterans pose in front of the Confederate monument on the PublicSquare in Murfreesboro in this photo dated on Sept. 27, 1929. RUTHERFORD COUNTY ARCHIVES

HISTORICAL IMAGE COLLECTIONS

Community was center of conflict, training

Veterans Charles Griffith and George Hagglund pay theirrespects during a Veterans Day service on the PublicSquare in Murfreesboro.

By Doug [email protected]


from campus duringWorld War II, but pilottraining brought manyArmy Air Force cadetsback to campus fortraining in 1943.

“President Q.M.Smith (who served from1938-1957) worked veryhard to keep the univer-sity operational bybringing in militarytraining programs andgrants to the pilot train-ing program,” Frisbysaid. “There was an air-port in the middle ofcampus, where theROTC building is now.”

The campus con-tinued to have classesduring World War II, butschedules were alteredto teach preparedness,physical fitness andmake care packages.

Thirty-seven MTSUveterans lost their livesduring military servicein World War II.

ROTC program bornat MTSU

In the late 1940s andearly 1950s, the enroll-ment of MTSC morethan doubled as soldiersreturning from WorldWar II took advantage ofthe GI Bill’s educationbenefits.

“In 1950-51, buildings

from the old Camp For-rest in Tullahoma weremoved to Murfreesborofor veterans to live in,”Frisby said. “They cre-ated Vet Village; a lot ofthe students who wereveterans (and their fam-ilies) would live(there).”

In 1950, the ReserveOfficers Training Corps(ROTC) program began.

“The department be-gan in the basement ofthe Alumni MemorialGym,” said Nancy Gar-ner, executive aide forthe Military Science De-partment. “Forrest Hallwas completed in Au-gust 1954, and we’vebeen there ever since.”

In 1951, Gen. DouglasMacArthur and his Mur-freesboro wife, JeanFaircloth MacArthur,filled MTSU’s stadiumon a farewell tour of theU.S.

“TheMilitary ScienceDepartment receivedthree M-4 tanks and oneM-24 tank for studentsto train with in October1952,” Frisby said.

In 1956, ROTC be-came compulsory forfreshman and sopho-more male students, butthat ended in 1972.

ROTC students typi-cally earn aminor inmil-

itary science, but majorin any number of pro-grams at MTSU, Kastsaid. When they gradu-ate and complete ROTCinstruction, they arecommissioned as secondlieutenants. These stu-dents are typically obli-gated for a three- tofour-year commitmentin the Army NationalGuard, ArmyReserve oractive duty.

Ultimate sacrifice

The university’s ser-vice flag presently con-tains 68 gold stars, rep-resenting those whohave died in the line ofduty.

MTSU alumni weresome of the first to givetheir lives in World WarII, as they saw actionjust after Pearl Harborin defense of the Aleu-

tian Islands in Alaska.Throughout World

War II, MTSU studentsserved and fell in the Pa-cific Islands, Italy,North Africa, WesternEurope (including D-Day), Eastern Europe,and theChina-India-Bur-ma theater. Two died onIwo Jima, one during thepre-invasion reconnais-sance as a member of anUnderwater Demoli-

tions Team (predeces-sors to today’s NavySEALs), and anotherwhile trying to fend offthe enemy.

In 1965, support fortroops in Vietnam wasexpressed through a sig-nature-filled petitionthat was presented toGov. Frank Clement,who passed it on toPresident Lyndon John-son.

A “Give Peace aChance Rally” was heldin 1969, the same yearthat the first woman ca-det enrolled in ROTC.

Eighteen Blue Raiderveterans lost their livesduring the Vietnam era.

MTSU students, fac-ulty and staff have sinceserved the U.S. withgreat distinction all overthe globe, Frisby said,including many whotrained as aviators inMTSU’s renowned aero-space programs.

Many other studentsalso served in civilianroles with the AmericanRed Cross, with the OakRidge National Re-search Laboratory, or inother service-relatedagencies. Even today,this “Blue Raider Spiritof Service” continues tomake vital contributionsto U.S. national security.

Members of the 115th Field Artillery Tennessee National Guard are shown during atraining exercise.. RUTHERFORD COUNTY ARCHIVES HISTORICAL IMAGE COLLECTIONSThere are 7,123 headstones in Stones River National Cemetery. JOHN A. GILLIS/DNJ

Navy veteran David DuBrucq bows his head during the benediction at the 2010 VeteransDay Ceremony on the Public Square. DuBrucq served from 1968 to 1992. JOHN A. GILLIS/DNJ


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HONORINGOUR MILITARY

Civil War re-enactors shoot a Model 1841 6-pounder cannon at the Stones River National Battlefield. JOHN A. GILLIS/DNJ

Webelo Ryan Tumbleson helps place flags at thegraves in the Stones River National Cemetery in thisMay 2009 photo. JOHN A. GILLIS/DNJ FILE PHOTO

Names ofothe fallen areinscribed on

the MTSUVeterans

Memorial oncampus. JOHN A.

GILLIS/DNJ


World War II veterans Frank Hayes, left, and WillieStem place a wreath at the Veterans Memorialduring a Veterans Day ceremony on Public Squareon Nov. 11, 2010. The two were classmates atRockvale High School in the 1930s. JOHN A. GILLIS/DNJ

Soldiers of the Tennessee National Guard's230th Signal Col. stand in formation as they

deploy for Afghanistan at Smyrna Airport onJuly 21, 2011. JOHN A. GILLIS/DNJ

General Douglas MacArthur and otherdignitaries salute during a visit toMurfreesboro in April 1951. RUTHERFORD

COUNTY ARCHIVES HISTORICAL IMAGE COLLECTIONS

Pvts. Bruce Loveall, Justin Klockow and Sow(no last name listed), and Sgt. John Gattonmarch toward camp as part of a June 2007historical reenactment of Confederate NathanBedford Forrest's raid on Union soldiers at theManey House, located on the Oaklandsgrounds. DNJ FILE PHOTO

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MTSU is committed to developing a communitydevoted to learning, growth, and service. We holdthese values dear, and there’s a simple phrase thatconveys them:“I am True Blue.”

“I am True Blue” and “True Blue” are theexpressions of MTSU’s brand. It represents a student-centric culture in all aspects of MTSU’s operations;the University’s standing as an accessible, affordableand quality institution; and its goal to provide theoptions and opportunities of a major comprehensiveuniversity while retaining small-college roots andapproaches to student success.Every new student at MTSU takes the True BluePledge at convocation. The pledge commits each

new Blue Raider to practice the core values ofhonesty and integrity; have respect for diversity;engage in the community; and commit to reason,not violence. For members of the faculty andadministration, pledging to be True Blue signals arenewed commitment to the success of students.In short, True Blue stands for the very best of whatBlue Raiders expect from one another.

MTSU, now more than a century old, offers terrificopportunities, exceptional value and a beautifulcampus. No wonder it is the No. 1 choice ofundergraduates in Tennessee, as well as the No. 1choice of our state’s transfer students and veterans.

True Blue!

MTSU is an AA/EEO employer.

Fall Preview DayOctober 20th

8:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.Preview Day gives

prospective students achance to visit campus andmeet current faculty, staff

and students.For for information and toRSVP: www.mtsu.edu/rsvp

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I am True Blue and True Blueexpressions of MTSU’s brand. Itcentric culture in all aspects of Mthe University’s standing as an aand quality institution; and its goptions and opportunities of a muniversity while retaining small-approaches to student success.Every new student at MTSU takePledge at convocation. The pled

Amanda Terranova (‘13)Mass Communication

murfreesboro 200th anniversary - who we are

Documents

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