MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE

'Murfreesboro' is a city in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. According to the 2007 census estimate the city had a total population of 92,559. It is the county seat of Rutherford County. The center of population of Tennessee is located in Murfreesboro.^[2]
Although Murfreesboro is sometimes considered a suburb or exurb of Nashville, Tennessee, it is far enough away [about ] and has a large enough population to maintain a separate identity from its larger neighbor. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the country, with a population growth from 46,000 to 69,000 between 1990 and 2000, a change of 66%. The city is also home to Middle Tennessee State University, the largest undergraduate university in the state of Tennessee, with a current undergraduate population of 22,554.
In 2006, Murfreesboro was ranked by ''Money'' as the 84th best place to live in the United States, out of 745 cities with a population over 50,000.^[3][1]

Contents

History

Geography

Transportation

Public transportation

Demographics

Parks

Culture

Jazz

Arts

Museums

Notable natives

Points of interest

Top employers in Murfreesboro

References

External links

History

In 1811, the Tennessee State Legislature established a county seat for Rutherford County. The town was first named "Cannonsburgh" in honor of Tennessee politician Newton Cannon, but was soon renamed "Murfreesboro" for Revolutionary War hero Colonel Hardy Murfree, later the great-grandfather of author Mary Noailles Murfree.
As Tennessee grew westward, it became clear that having the state capital in Knoxville would be a burden to those who had to travel from the western end of the state. In 1818, Murfreesboro became the capital of Tennessee until 1826, when Nashville became the state capital.^[4]
On December 31, 1862, the Battle of Stones River, also called the Battle of Murfreesboro, was fought near Murfreesboro. This was a major engagement of the American Civil War. After the battle, Murfreesboro was used as a supply depot for the Union Army. Stones River National Battlefield is now an historical site.

Geography

Murfreesboro is located at (35.857700, -86.394725).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of . of it is land and of it (0.54%) is water.
Murfreesboro is the geographic center of the state of Tennessee. A stone monument marks the official site on Old Lascassas Pike, about a half-mile (800 m) north of MTSU.

Transportation

Murfreesboro is served by Nashville International Airport (IATA code BNA), Smyrna Airport (MQY) and Murfreesboro Municipal Airport (MBT). The city also benefits from several highways running through the city, including Interstate 24; U.S. Routes 41 and 231; and State Routes 1, 2, 10, 96, 99, 268 and 840.

Public transportation

The City of Murfreesboro ordered nine buses to serve as the city's new transportation. Each bus is capable of holding sixteen people and includes two spaces for wheelchairs. With the system being called "Rover", the buses are bright green in color with "Rover" and a cartoon dog painted on the side.
The system has been in service since April 2007, with buses operating in six major corridors: Memorial Boulevard, NW Broad Street, Old Fort Parkway, South Church Street, Mercury Boulevard and Highland Avenue.
A one-way fare is US$1.00 for adults, US$0.50 for children 6-16 and seniors 65 and over, and free for children under 6. The system will operate Monday to Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.^[5][6]

Demographics

According to US Census Bureau in 2006, there were 92,559 people, 36,199 households, and 21,042 families residing in the city.^[1] The population density was 681.5/km² (1,764.9/mi²). There were 28,815 housing units at an average density of 285.3/km² (739.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.85% White, 13.89% African American, 0.28% Native American, 2.69% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.88% from other races, and 1.38% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.53% of the population.
There were 26,511 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 20.5% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was US$39,652, and the median income for a family was US$55,845. Males had a median income of US$42,872 versus US$30,621 for females.

Parks

★ 'Cannonsburgh Village', [2].

★ 'Stones River National Battlefield', [3]. Civil War Battlefield.

★ 'Oaklands Historic House Museum', [4]. Location of a Civil War house and baseball park.

★ 'Old Fort Park', [5]. 50 acre park including baseball fields, tennis courts, Kids Castle playground, 18-hole championship golf course, picnic shelters, bike trails.

★ 'Barfield-Cresent Park', [6]. 430 acre park including 8 baseball fields, 7 miles of bike/running trails, 18-hole championship disc golf course, and 10 picnic shelters.

Culture

Jazz

★ WMOT radio station is a service of the local College of Mass Communication of Middle Tennessee State University and serves the greater Nashville Community.[7].

★ The very popular Main Street Jazzfest [8] that usually attracts a lot of local attention is presented by Middle Tennessee State University McLean School of Music.

Arts

Murfreesboro contains a Center for the Arts [9] close to the Square. It entertains with an array of exhibits, theatre arts, concerts, dance, and magic shows.

Museums

The Discovery Center of Murfree Spring [10] houses an interactive gallery of exhibits and is a local favorite for school trips.

Notable natives

★ James M. Buchanan, Nobel Prize-winning economist

★ Will Allen Dromgoole, author

★ Bart Gordon, U.S. Congressman

★ Andrew Nelson Lytle, author, novelist, member of Vanderbilt ''Fugitives''

★ Jean MacArthur, wife of Gen. Douglas MacArthur

★ Matt Mahaffey, musician

★ Carl P. Mayfield, talk show host, Sirius satellite radio show ''Carl P & The P-Team''

★ Hardy Murfree, Revolutionary War colonel

★ Mary Noailles Murfree, author

★ Andre Norton, science fiction and fantasy writer

★ Sarah Childress Polk, First Lady of the United States; wife of Pres. James K. Polk

★ David Price, baseball pitcher; 2007 Major League Baseball Draft first round pick, signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays

★ Grantland Rice, sportswriter

★ Margaret Rhea Seddon, astronaut

★ Chris Young, musician; 2006 ''Nashville Star'' winner

Points of interest

★ Cannonsburgh Pioneer Village

★ Discovery Center at Murfree Spring

★ Geographic center of Tennessee

★ Middle Tennessee State University

★ Oaklands Historic House Museum

★ Stones River Greenway Arboretum

★ Stones River Mall

★ Stones River National Battlefield
Murfreesboro is the home of a Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP). It is part of an initiative by the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide mail order prescriptions to veterans using computerization at strategic locations throughout the United States.

Top employers in Murfreesboro

#	Employer	Number of employees
1.	Rutherford County government	3,350
2.	Middle Tennessee State University	1,700
3.	State Farm Operations Center	1,450
4.	Alvin C. York Veterans Administration Medical Center	1,411
5.	Middle Tennessee Medical Center	1,300
6.	Verizon Wireless Call Center	1,083
7.	Murfreesboro city government	827 (full time) 234 (part time)
8.	General Mills/Pillsbury Company	750
9.	Johnson Controls, Inc.	750
10.	MAHLE Tennex	650
11.	Lewis Brothers Bakeries	525

★ Information is current as of November 2006.^[8]

References

1. 2006 population estimate for Murfreesboro city
2. Population and Population Centers by State: 2000
3. Murfreesboro a 'Best Place' to live
4. History of Murfreesboro, TN
5. 'Rover' bus service set to begin in early April
6. Work begins on Rover bus fleet Turner Hutchens
7. 2006 population estimate for Murfreesboro city
8. Post Top 10 employers

External links

★ City web page

★ Daily News Journal (newspaper)

★ Linebaugh Public Library System