Murfreesboro's bicentennial celebration include the history of First Presbyterian Church with a special lecture and walk this Sunday. When Captain William Lytle deeded land for the township of Murfreesborough, he also presented a tract for a place of worship. MTSU's Dr. Kevin Smith did an archeological dig on the land given by Lytle, and unearthed the church's foundation and much more. He will speak at the church on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 o'clock. First Presbyterian is now on the corner of College and Spring Streets. At 5:00 o'clock those in attendance will enjoy hot dogs and a covered dish meal. At 6:00 Sunday evening, Dr. Smith leads the group on a 4-block walk to the site in the old city cemetery on Vine Street.
Mysteries Revealed At 4:00PM Talk On September 18th
First Presbyterian’s Bicentennial Co-Chair Sandra Hawkins explained that Dr. Smith will begin with a talk in the church at the corner of College and Spring Streets and give details about this city’s first brick structure. Little known facts were confirmed as archeologists swept away the layers of time, exposing the original rock foundation and more. Mysteries will be revealed in the 4:00 o’clock presentation, followed by an old fashioned hot dog picnic at 5:00 that afternoon (9/18/2011). The church will furnish hot dogs, buns, tea and condiments, with side dishes and desserts provided potluck style by members of the congregation. At 6:00 o’clock that Sunday evening, members and visitors will walk the short three-blocks to its pre Civil War home on Vine Street.
In The Beginning
The Presbyterian church did not just suddenly appear where the old city cemetery is now located. In fact, a small group of worshipers started to meet years earlier in a log cabin that overlooked Murfree Spring, where the Discovery Center is now positioned.
The church is closely linked to the very beginning of Murfreesboro. On October 17, 1811, the Tennessee Legislature approved establishing seat of government for Rutherford County near where Town Creek and Lytle Creek merge. The tiny village was named Cannonsburgh. But local Revolutionary War hero Captain William Lytle had other thoughts. He agreed to deed prime land on the rise overlooking those tributaries for use as a town square, but there was a catch. Lytle wanted the town named after his war buddy, Colonel Hardy Murfree. The high ground obviously had strong appeal. On November 19, 1811 Murfreesborough was born. When the transition was made official in January, 1812, the name had been shortened to Murfreesboro.
Shortly before deeding the land to the new town square, Lytle felt the need for a permanent church structure to be a part of the new community. He was a Presbyterian meeting with others in that log cabin, and for $1.00 the captain decided to give his fellow worshipers a 150 x 165-foot parcel of land where the old city cemetery is now located.
The church and belfry were constructed by Benjamin Goldson at a cost of approximately $4,000. The majority of this city’s first brick structure was a sanctuary with thick 18-inch walls. Hand-hewn poplar pews accommodated 250-300 persons.
The 4:00 o’clock talk at Murfreesboro’s First Presbyterian Church on Sunday afternoon, September 18th, by MTSU’s Dr. Smith will give details of what was uncovered in the dig around church’s original foundation.
Fire Puts First Presbyterian Into State Politics
Murfreesboro’s position as geographical center of Tennessee was one of the reasons that state officials moved the location of the state capital from Knoxville to here in 1818. Legislative sessions were held in the Rutherford County courthouse building until it was destroyed by fire in 1922. The Presbyterians opened their doors and the general assembly met in the Vine Street sanctuary until a new courthouse was constructed. That did not keep the center of government here. By January, 1826, officials moved the capital to Nashville.
Nothing Sacred In War
When the Civil War encroached the peaceful community, civility and respect for religion quickly faded. Confederates initially used the church as a hospital, but when Union troops took over—they kept horses in the sacred sanctuary. In the winter of 1863 and 1864, the Federals vandalized and completely destroyed the church. Soldiers removed window sashes, blinds and doors. Government wagons hauled these items from the church to Union camps. The evening before the bricks were to be removed, a brave young member of the congregation and several friends, used the cloak of night to hide his climb to the belfry where he rescued the church’s 560-pounde brass bell that was purchased in 1831. Samuel McFadden hid it in the basement of his father’s store until the war passed. That same bell still rings First Presbyterian’s congregation to worship every Sunday morning.
Starting in October, 1865, the church’s session began petitioning the U.S. Congress for reparations for the destruction of its house of worship. Almost thirty-four years later, on March 3, 1989, under the Bowman Act, the 55th Congress of the United States paid $6,500. By that time, estimates to rebuild were in the $10,000 range.
The walk to the site where MTSU did an archeological dig of the old church’s foundation will take place at 6:00 o’clock, immediately following the picnic.
Future Brings Two More Sanctuaries
Since the Civil War, First Presbyterian has had two other homes, both at the corner of West College and North Spring Streets. A beautiful gothic sanctuary was destroyed by the Good Friday tornado in 1912. The determined congregation rebuilt on the same site with a classical revival structure that was dedicated in 1914. That church has since been added to the National Register, as well as dramatically expanded and modernized over the years.
Again, Murfreesboro’s First Presbyterian Church at the corner of College and Spring Streets invites the community to step back in time for a Bicentennial Talk, Walk and Picnic starting at 4:00PM Sunday afternoon, September 18, 2011.
