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Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Coordinates: 35°50′46″N 86°23′31″W / 35.846143°N 86.392078°W / 35.846143; -86.392078
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Murfreesboro, Tennessee
City
Downtown Murfreesboro
Downtown Murfreesboro
Official logo of Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Nickname: 
"The 'Boro"
Motto: 
Creating a better quality of life.
CountryUnited States
StateTennessee
CountyRutherford
Settled1811
Incorporated1817
Government
 • TypeMayor-Council
 • MayorTommy Bragg
 • Vice mayorChris Bratcher
Area
 • City39.2 sq mi (101.5 km2)
 • Land39.0 sq mi (101.0 km2)
 • Water0.20 sq mi (0.5 km2)  0.54%
Elevation
619.0 ft (186 m)
Population
 (2009)[1][2]
 • City101,753
 • Density2,600/sq mi (1,000/km2)
 • Urban
135,855
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
37127-37130
Area code615
FIPS code47-51560Template:GR
GNIS feature ID1295105Template:GR
WebsiteMurfreesboroTN.gov

Murfreesboro is a city in and the county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States.Template:GR The population was 101,753 according to the United States Census Bureau's 2009 report, up from 81,393 residents certified during the city's 2005 special census.[1] The center of population of Tennessee is located in Murfreesboro.[3] The city is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes thirteen counties and a population of 1,632,671 (2009).[4]

Although Murfreesboro is sometimes considered a suburb or exurb of Nashville, Tennessee, it is far enough away [about 35 miles (56 km)] and has a large enough population to maintain a separate identity from its larger neighbor. It is Tennessee's fastest growing major city and 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 20,899 and 23,264 total students.[5]

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.[6][7]

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.[8]

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°50′46″N 86°23′31″W / 35.846143°N 86.392078°W / 35.846143; -86.392078.Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 39.2 square miles (102 km2). 39.0 square miles (101 km2) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) 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 (Stopping at Warrior Drive), 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 operates Monday to Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.[9][10]

Swanson Building, Murfreesboro.
Joseph Swanson is a major developer in the area.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 68,816 people, 26,511 households, and 15,747 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,764.9 inhabitants per square mile (681.4/km2). There were 28,815 housing units at an average density of 739.0 per square mile (285.3/km2). 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 $39,705, and the median income for a family was $52,654. Males had a median income of $36,078 versus $26,531 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,219. About 8.2% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under the age of 18 and 11.1% of those 65 and older.

According to Murfreesboro's 2008 special census, the population had reached 100,575. Special census estimates in 2005 indicated 81,393 residents, and in 2006 the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey estimated a population of 92,559, with 35,842 households and 20,979 families in the city.[1][11]

Parks

  • Cannonsburgh Village,[12] World's Largest Cedar Bucket.
  • Old Fort Park,[13] . 50-acre (200,000 m2) park including baseball fields, tennis courts, Kids Castle playground, 18-hole championship golf course, picnic shelters, bike trails.
  • Barfield-Crescent Park,[14] . 430-acre (1.7 km2) park including 8 baseball fields, 7 miles (11 km) of bike/running trails, 18-hole championship disc golf course, and 10 picnic shelters.

Culture

Music

Murfreesboro hosts several music-oriented events annually, including the Main Street Jazzfest, which is presented by MTSU's School of Music, and Uncle Dave Macon Days. The city has fostered the growth of a number of bands, such as The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, Glossary, A Plea for Purging, Those Darlins, and The Features.

Arts

Murfreesboro contains a Center for the Arts close to the Square. It entertains with an array of exhibits, theatre arts, concerts, dance, and magic shows. New organizations including Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and the Murfreesboro Youth Orchestra offer music and art based programming for young people.

Museums

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

Bradley Academy Museum contains collectibles and exhibits of the first school in Rutherford County. This school was later renovated to become to only African American school in Murfreesboro, which closed in 1955.

The Cannonsburgh Pioneer Village is a reproduction of what a working pioneer village would have looked like from the period of 1830s to the 1930s. Visitors can view the grist mill, school house, Leeman House, Caboose, Wedding Chapel, and even a doctor's office.

Stones River National Battlefield, the museum and battlefield described about the Battle of Stones River in December 31, 1862 - January 3, 1863, one of American Civil War Battles.

Oaklands Historic House Museum, a 19th century house that was involved in the Battle of Stones River and has a baseball park.

Shopping

There are currently two main malls located within the city limits. One is the indoor mall, Stones River Mall, which includes stores and restraunts such as Forever 21, Aeropostale, Journey's, Hot Topic, Agaci, Dillard's, Buckle, Books-a-Million, The Olive Garden, TGI Fridays. There is an outdoor mall on Medical Center Parkway called The Avenue of Murfreesboro. The shops here include American Eagle, Hollister, Best Buy, Belk, Petco, Dicks Sporting Goods, Express, Mimi's Cafe, Macaroni Grille and Longhorn Steakhouse. The Historic Downtown Murfreesboro district also offers a wide variety of unique shopping and dining experiences that encircle the pre-Civil War Courthouse.

Media

Murfreesboro is serviced by the following media outlets:

Newspapers:

Radio:

  • WGNS - Talk radio
  • WMOT - MTSU Jazz station
  • WMTS-FM - MTSU free-form student-run station

TV:

  • Channel 3 - Murfreesboro government access channel
  • WETV-LP
  • MTTV - MTSU student-run station

2009 Tornado

On April 10, 2009, at approximately 12:30 p.m. CDT, an EF4 tornado struck the western and northern fringes of the city of Murfreesboro. As a result, two people were killed and 41 others injured. 845 homes were affected: 117 were totally destroyed; 292 had major damage; 175 had minor damage and 255 others were affected to some degree. The tornado, which the National Weather Service indicates was on the ground for about a half hour, is estimated to have caused in excess of US$40 million in damages.[15]

Notable natives

Rutherford County Courthouse in Murfreesboro

Points of interest

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.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c Hudgins, Melinda (2009-07-01). "'Boro ranks 12th in U.S. for growth". Daily News Journal. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  2. ^ Population of Urban Clusters and Urbanized Areas, by State, Technology Transfer Network Air Toxics Web Site, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
  3. ^ "Population and Population Centers by State: 2000". Census.gov. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  4. ^ U.S. Census Population Estimates for 2007 - Counties
  5. ^ "MTSU fall enrollment crosses 23,000 mark". Nashville Business Journal. 2007-09-11. Archived from the original on 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
  6. ^ "Best places to live 2006: Murfreesboro, TN snapshot". CNN.com. 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
  7. ^ "Murfreesboro a 'Best Place' to live". Nashville Business Journal. 2006-07-17. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  8. ^ "History of Murfreesboro, TN". MurfreesboroTN.gov. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
  9. ^ "'Rover' bus service set to begin in early April". MurfreesboroTN.gov. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  10. ^ Hutchens, Turner (2007-01-05). "Work begins on Rover bus fleet". Daily News Journal.
  11. ^ "2006 population estimate for Murfreesboro city". United States Census Bureau. 2006. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  12. ^ http://www.rutherfordchamber.org/cvb/visitors/what-to-see/what-to-see-detail.php?PRKey=4
  13. ^ http://www.murfreesborotn.gov/government/parks_rec/Parks/old_fort.htm
  14. ^ http://www.murfreesborotn.gov/government/parks_rec/Parks/barfield_crescent.htm
  15. ^ Davis, Doug (2009-04-17). "Damage estimates hit $41.8M". The Daily News Journal. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
  16. ^ "Post Top 10 employers". The Murfreesboro Post. 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-26. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
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