Rutherford County, Tennessee
Rutherford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in Middle Tennessee. As of a 2023 estimate, the population was 367,101,[2] making it the fifth-most populous county in Tennessee. A study conducted by the University of Tennessee projects Rutherford County to become the third largest county in Tennessee by population by 2050.[3] Its county seat is Murfreesboro,[4] which is also the geographic center of Tennessee. As of 2010, it is the center of population of Tennessee.[5][6] Rutherford County is included in the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Not to be confused with Rutherford, Tennessee.
Rutherford County
United States
October 25, 1803
Murfreesboro
624 sq mi (1,620 km2)
619 sq mi (1,600 km2)
4.7 sq mi (12 km2) 0.8%
341,486
367,101 
550/sq mi (210/km2)
History[edit]
Early history[edit]
Rutherford County was formed in 1803 from parts of Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties,[1] and named in honor of Griffith Rutherford (1721–1805).[7] Rutherford was a North Carolina colonial legislator and an American Revolutionary War general, who settled in Middle Tennessee after the Revolution. He was appointed President of the Council of the Southwest Territory (the upper chamber of the territorial legislature) in 1794.[8]
Civil War[edit]
Rutherford County strongly supported the Confederacy during the Civil War, having voted 2,392 to 73 in favor of Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession on June 8, 1861.[9]
Rutherford County's central location and proximity to Nashville during the Civil War made it a contested area.[10] The county was home to one of the bloodiest battles of the war, the Battle of Stones River, which was fought between December 31, 1862, and January 2, 1863.
On July 13, 1862, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest conducted a series of cavalry operations known locally as Forrest's Raid. The raid successfully led to the surrender of all Union forces occupying the area.[11] Soon after his departure, Union troops returned to the area and held it until the end of the war.