Murfreesboro sits at the geographic center of Tennessee — an obelisk on Old Lascassas Pike marks the exact spot. It served as the state capital from 1819 to 1826 and was the site of the Battle of Stones River in late 1862, one of the bloodiest engagements of the Civil War. The Stones River National Battlefield preserves the ground where over 23,000 soldiers fell.
The town square, anchored by one of the last remaining pre-Civil War courthouses in the state, is the heart of the city. Middle Tennessee State University gives Murfreesboro a college-town energy, and the surrounding area has grown rapidly as a suburb of Nashville, just 50 km to the northwest.
Beyond its Civil War history, Murfreesboro has a good collection of antebellum houses, the cheerful oddity of the World's Largest Cedar Bucket, and the Oaklands Mansion — a historic house museum where Confederate President Jefferson Davis once stayed. The Discovery Center at Murfree Spring is excellent for families.