Hello everyone, I hope the summer finds you all well, and hopefully you’re getting to travel a little bit. Here, I thought we would go back in time with all of the hoopla over eminent domain and Rutherford County looking into building a new jail on the old fairgrounds property. This land sits just behind Krystal on South Church Street.

Several years ago I did a story on that property and I thought I would refresh everybody on what used to be there, considering the jail discussion getting a lot of attention lately.

I bet you didn’t know that, right behind Krystal, Murfreesboro had a fairgrounds that held several events over the years. It began in 1868 just after the Civil War when some northern investors bought 30 acres of the Alfred Miller estate. They built a fairground, enclosed with a plank fence. It contained a half-mile track for training horses and, later, harness racing.

They also built an amphitheater with a show ring that had a grandstand for all the spectators. There were stalls and stables for the livestock. Reportedly, the grounds were very well landscaped. This new facility was called the Tennessee Central.

A good nearby point of reference is the Sanbyrn Bridge on South Rutherford Boulevard that crosses the railroad tracks just behind Wendy’s. Back in the day, the train would stop there and let the race horses and jockeys off and they would make their way up South Rutherford Boulevard to the fairgrounds on race day.

Beginning in the late 1800s, harness racing was the big draw to the fair. Cash prizes were typically $20. Around the early 1900s the fairground property was very active with exhibitions, circuses and even revivals.  Later, during the Great Depression years, the fairgrounds struggled.

There were great hopes for the fairgrounds in 1934. The Rutherford Courier reported a three-day fair that had a carnival with six riding devices, 10 side shows and 30 concessions. There were agricultural and domestic exhibits and competitions. Daytime harness racing and nighttime horse shows filled the arena.

While the racetrack was primarily used for horse racing, there are also accounts of auto races being held at the property long ago.

Today, you can still see some of the remnants of the fairgrounds, like asphalt.

Did you know . . . ? Back in 1987, Rutherford County was one of several counties across Tennessee that were being considered for parimutuel gambling, which meant there was a possibility of horse racing coming back to Rutherford County. When the Tennessee General Assembly passed the Racing Control Act of 1987, allowing parimutuel gambling on horse races, it also set up the Tennessee State Racing Commission to issue track licenses and make sure people followed state law. There was a gentleman here in Murfreesboro by the name of Claude Cockrell who was hoping to bring horse racing to Rutherford County. It was frowned upon because some thought that gambling could bring some criminals and seedy activity with it. Before it all panned out, Cockrell himself was indicted for some illegal activities and it never got off the ground.

On a personal note, back in the 1970s my grandfather, Bill Wilson, who served as Rutherford County Road Superintendent, was in charge of the Rutherford County Workhouse. Today it’s known as the Juvenile Center. It sits next door to the fairground property that the county is wanting to build a new jail on. I remember as a small child going to have breakfast at the workhouse with him, other jailers, and prisoners alike. Granddaddy kept his mules in a barn on the old fairground property, and I can vividly remember going with him and my brother, David Wilson, to check on those old mules. For some reason he always loved mules—I guess because they were hard workers and he was from Macon County.

Personally, I think Rutherford County is big enough to have fairgrounds. It could actually be on the property we’re talking about, though the county has found it necessary to build a new jail there. The property will have gone from a place for entertainment to a place for detainment.

What are your thoughts, my good people?

I hope everybody has a blessed rest of your summer and remember to always go out and do something nice for somebody. God bless!

___

(Some of this information comes from John Spence’s book Annals of Rutherford County and from Rutherford County Historian Greg Tucker.)

___