About this property
Bradley Academy Museum is a historic school building in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, that now serves as a museum and community center. The original Bradley Academy was established in 1811 near Jefferson, the original county seat of Rutherford County, as the county's first school. Its namesake was John Bradley, an officer in the American Revolutionary War, who donated the land that the first school was built on. The school later relocated to Murfreesboro and operated as a school for white students until the 1850s. In 1884, Bradley Academy was revived to become the county's first school for African Americans. The current building was built circa 1917–8 and was operated as a school for African-American children until 1955, when the school moved to the current Bradley Academy location on Mercury Boulevard. Murfreesboro City Schools converted the building into a maintenance facility. In 1990 the Bradley Academy Historical Association formed with the purpose of restoring the building for community use. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places that same year. The organization obtained funding for the restoration project from sources including the Christy-Houston Foundation, the Tennessee state government, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The building opened as a community center in 2000. It hosts exhibits on the history of Rutherford County, particularly of African Americans in the area. The Bradley Academy name is still in use as the name of a public elementary school in Murfreesboro, located at 511 Mercury Boulevard. Bradley Academy Museum and Cultural Center - City of Murfreesboro, YouTube video published on Aug 21, 2014
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Bradley Academy
This page lists Bradley Academy. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Bradley Academy listed on the National Register?
Bradley Academy was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 13, 1990.
What type of historic resource is Bradley Academy?
Bradley Academy is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Bradley Academy?
The period of significance for Bradley Academy is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Bradley Academy?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Bradley Academy will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Rutherford County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Rutherford County.
Explore RutherfordCounty ›More historic places in Tennessee
Browse all historic places in Tennessee.
View Tennesseehistoric sites ›Tennessee history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
Tennesseehistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Bradley Academy will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.