Rutherford County, Tennessee
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 49 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1966. Most listings are in or near Murfreesboro, Readyville, Eagleville.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Tennessee is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Rutherford titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP27 of 49 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
49 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church | Murfreesboro | 1995 |
| Arnold-Harrell House | Murfreesboro | 1992 |
| Beesley Primitive Baptist Church | Murfreesboro | 1999 |
| Benevolent Cemetery | Murfreesboro | 2022 |
| Black, Thomas C., House | Murfreesboro | 1996 |
| Boxwood | Murfreesboro | 1984 |
| Bradley Academy | Murfreesboro | 1990 |
| Caff-E-Hill Farm | Readyville | 1995 |
| Cemetery School | Murfreesboro | 2022 |
| Childress-Ray House | Murfreesboro | 1979 |
| Collier-Crichlow House (Additional Documentation) | Murfreesboro | 1973 |
| Davis, Sam, House | Smyrna | 1969 |
| Dement House | Lascassas | 1986 |
| East Main Street Historic District (Additional Documentation) | Murfreesboro | 1985 |
| Elmwood | Murfreesboro | 1973 |
| Elmwood (Boundary Increase) | Murfreesboro | 2007 |
| First Presbyterian Church | Murfreesboro | 1993 |
| Fortress Rosecrans Site | Murfreesboro | 1974 |
| Henderson, Logan, Farm | Murfreesboro | 2003 |
| Idler's Retreat | Smyrna | 2004 |
| Jarman Farm | Lascassas | 1987 |
| Jones, Enoch H. House | Murfreesboro | 1995 |
| Jordan, William B., Farm | Eagleville | 1992 |
| Landsberger-Gerhardt House | Murfreesboro | 1993 |
| Macon, Uncle Dave, House | Readyville | 1973 |
| Marymont (Additional Documentation) | Murfreesboro | 1973 |
| McCord, William Harrison, House | Eagleville | 1984 |
| McGill-Becton-Cates Family Farm | Readyville | 2005 |
| Middle Tennessee State Teachers College Training School | Murfreesboro | 1993 |
| Morgan House | Christiana | 1979 |
| Murfreesboro Veterans Administration Hospital Historic District | Murfreesboro | 2012 |
| Murray Farm | Readyville | 1991 |
| North Maney Avenue Historic District | Murfreesboro | 1985 |
| Oaklands | Murfreesboro | 1970 |
| Old First Presbyterian Church and Old City Cemetery | Murfreesboro | 2012 |
| Palmer, Gen. Joseph B., House (Additional Documentation) | Murfreesboro | 1973 |
| Providence Primitive Baptist Church | Walter Hill | 2000 |
| Riverside Farm | Walter Hill | 2006 |
| Rockvale Store | Rockvale | 1995 |
| Rucker, Benjamine, House | Compton | 1991 |
| Rutherford County Courthouse | Murfreesboro | 1973 |
| Rutherford Health Department | Murfreesboro | 1992 |
| Scales, Absalom, House | Eagleville | 1973 |
| Searcy-Matthews-Tarpley Farm | Walter Hill | 2011 |
| Smith, Robert Andrew, Farm | Murfreesboro | 1993 |
| Spence, John C., House | Murfreesboro | 2004 |
| Stones River National Battlefield (Additional Documentation) | Murfreesboro | 1966 |
| Stones River National Battlefield (Boundary Increase) | Murfreesboro | 2022 |
| Walter Hill Hydroelectric Station | Murfreesboro | 1990 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBRutherford was formed in 1803 (1803-10-25) from Davidson, Williamson.
RUTHERFORD created from DAVIDSON and WILLIAMSON.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusRutherford County population from 1810 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1810 | 1820 | 1840 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,265 | 19,552 | 24,280 | 27,918 | 36,741 | 33,543 | 33,059 | 33,604 | 40,696 | 52,368 | 84,058 | 182,023 | 341,486 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Stones River National Battlefield | Park unit | 3.9 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS558 cemeteries and 7 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 80 of 558 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Adkerson Cemetery |
| Akin Cemetery |
| Alexander Cemetery |
| Alexander Cemetery |
| Alford Cemetery |
| Alsup Cemetery |
| Arnett Cemetery |
| Arnold Cemetery |
| Ashley Cemetery |
| Barber Cemetery |
| Barlow Cemetery |
| Barnes-Coleman Cemetery |
| Baskin Cemetery |
| Baskin Cemetery |
| Bass Cemetery |
| Bass Cemetery |
| Batey Cemetery |
| Batey Cemetery |
| Batey Cemetery |
| Batey Cemetery |
| Baugh Cemetery |
| Beesley Cemetery |
| Bell Cemetery |
| Bellah Cemetery |
| Benevolent Cemetery |
| Bennett Cemetery |
| Bennett Cemetery |
| Benson Cemetery |
| Bevins Cemetery |
| Big Creek Cemetery |
| Bigg Cemetery |
| Bingham Cemetery |
| Black Cemetery |
| Blackman Cemetery |
| Blackman Cemetery |
| Blackman Cemetery |
| Blair Cemetery |
| Bone Cemetery |
| Boring Cemetery |
| Bowen-Snell Cemetery |
| Bowling Cemetery |
| Bowman Cemetery |
| Bowman Cemetery |
| Boyd Cemetery |
| Bradleys Creek Cemetery |
| Brandon Cemetery |
| Brashears Cemetery |
| Brittain Cemetery |
| Brothers Cemetery |
| Brothers Cemetery |
| Brothers Cemetery |
| Brown Cemetery |
| Brown Cemetery |
| Brown Cemetery |
| Brown Cemetery |
| Broyles Cemetery |
| Buchanan Cemetery |
| Burk Cemetery |
| Burleson Cemetery |
| Burns Cemetery |
| Burrus Cemetery |
| Butler Cemetery |
| Butler Cemetery |
| Campbell Cemetery |
| Cannon Cemetery |
| Carlton Cemetery |
| Carlton Cemetery |
| Carnahan Cemetery |
| Carothers Cemetery |
| Carson Cemetery |
| Carson Cemetery |
| Carter Cemetery |
| Carter Cemetery |
| Castleman - Bruer Cemetery |
| Chadwick Cemetery |
| Charleton Ford Cemetery |
| Christopher Cemetery |
| Clark Cemetery |
| Clark Cemetery |
| Clark Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 7 of 7
| Name |
|---|
| Mount Olive |
| Mount Olivet |
| New Las Casas |
| Old Fosterville |
| Old Millersburg |
| Snell |
| Winstead |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Civil War battlefields nearby
ABPPAmerican Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Civil War study areas near this county.
| Battlefield | Study acres | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Murfreesborough | 1,498 | 2.8 km |
| Murfreesborough | 3,482 | 3.5 km |
| Stones River | 10,415 | 4.3 km |
| Vaught'S Hill | 1,569 | 23.2 km |
| Hoover'S Gap | 17,069 | 25.1 km |
Source: NPS American Battlefield Protection Program Civil War Study Areas (public ArcGIS feature service).
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Rutherford County, Tennessee
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.