Murfreesboro, city, seat of Rutherford County, central Tennessee, on the West Fork of the Stones River; incorporated as a city 1817. It is the commercial, medical, and manufacturing hub of a dairy-farming and horse-raising area and is a trade center for antiques. Products include electrical equipment, tires, furniture, and packaging materials. Middle Tennessee State University (1911) is here, and Stones River National Battlefield, the site of a Union victory (1862-63) during the American Civil War, is nearby. The community was founded in 1811 on land donated by Colonel William Lytle and is named for his friend Lieutenant Colonel Hardy Murfree. It was the capital of Tennessee from 1819 to 1826. Population 32,845 (1980); 44,922 (1990); 68,816 (2000).
