The last bale of cotton from the Haynes Cotton Gin is back on display, along with the gin's scales, in the refurbished warehouse that houses the Haynes Museum at Cannonsburgh Village. The museum reopened on June 26, 2026, which was also the day the City celebrated 50 years of Cannonsburgh Village with Old Time music, bluegrass and southern gospel, BBQ and quilting.
The gin closed in 1974, and its owner gave the land to the City. A bicentennial planning group called the Horizons Committee turned it into a pioneer village. The committee used a $75,000 federal grant to buy log cabins from across Rutherford County and move them downtown. Longtime MTSU history professor Dr. James Huhta helped pull the project together, and former Mayor W.H. Westbrooks had dreamed of a pioneer village. Cannonsburgh opened on June 26, 1976.
You might expect a 50-year-old collection of log cabins to be finished. Cannonsburgh isn't. Restoration work is still going on, community groups based on the property still run its programs, and the creek being dug out at its edge will soon connect it to the rest of downtown. All three show up on this fall's calendar.
A museum that still accepts donations
The City's July 2 news release on the anniversary says two capital campaign grants from the State of Tennessee paid to refurbish the inside and outside of the warehouse that holds the Haynes Museum. The reopened exhibits include items donated by the community. They tell Murfreesboro's story and now also cover the village's own 50 years. Cannonsburgh has a collections policy for accepting and curating donations, so the exhibits can keep growing.
Outside, a Case steam engine has been painted like new. The L&N caboose was still under renovation as of the July release. The village has 20 structures and more than 2,000 artifacts, including authentic furniture that covers 100 years of Tennessee life.
Cannonsburgh Facility Coordinator Mary Beth Nevills told the City's podcast, "The Insider," that the property welcomed more than 27,000 visitors in 2025, from 49 states and 47 countries. She also explained what the village is meant to give people:
"Visiting Cannonsburgh is a great opportunity to look back at the past—how we lived, how we functioned in everyday life—especially for children who get a sense of what it was like with no electricity, no batteries."
The groups based on the grounds
Cannonsburgh is more than a set of buildings the City keeps up. According to the City, three community groups operate from the property:
- Rutherford County Blacksmith Association. The association is housed on site and demonstrates during the fall events. It also demonstrated on Thursday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon in July.
- Murfreesboro Art League. Also housed on the property, the league opens its gallery on Saturdays and Sundays during the village's operating hours.
- The car club in the antique auto garage. The July release calls it the Stones River Auto Club and says it holds events throughout the year. The City's Harvest Days notice lists a cruise-in by the Stones River Car Club.
The gallery's weekend schedule matters this month. Cannonsburgh can close for special events, so the posted hours call for a phone call before any visit. Under the seasonal schedule published by TN250, the village and visitors' center keep regular weekend hours from April 1 through October 31. Saturdays run 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays 1 to 4 p.m. From November 1 through March 31, the schedule lists Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., weather permitting. Saturday, Sunday and Monday are closed.
That schedule has no publish date. The City's own Christmas listing does confirm free weekday admission from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in December. If you plan to visit the Art League gallery on a weekend, call the Cannonsburgh office at 615-890-0355 first.
October on the grounds and around the square
Here's the rest of October, in order. Two of the dates line up with downtown events a few blocks away.
- Friday, Oct. 16 and Saturday, Oct. 17: Village After Dark, 6 to 9 p.m. Bring a flashlight for a flashlight hunt through the dark corners of the log cabins. The evening also has sweet treats and hot drinks, fall crafts and games, music and BINGO. Costumes are welcome. Tickets are $5 a person at the gate, and children 5 and under get in free. The event has won a state award from the Tennessee Association of Museums.
- Friday, Oct. 16: Friday Night Live on the courthouse square, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. On the same Friday, Main Street Murfreesboro is adding an October concert to make up for a show that was postponed earlier in the season. Matthias Lamparter will play classic rock and country with a full horn section. Admission is free, according to the Murfreesboro Pulse.
- Saturday, Oct. 24: Harvest Days, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is the day all three resident groups take part at once. The Rutherford County Blacksmith Association will give blacksmithing demonstrations, the Murfreesboro Art League will display and sell art, and the Stones River Car Club will hold a cruise-in. The day also has handmade crafts, live music, living history demonstrations, food trucks and storytelling. Admission is free, according to the City's Harvest Days notice.
- Friday, Oct. 30: Trick or Treat Around the Square, 3 to 5 p.m. Downtown businesses will hand out treats.
- Saturday, Oct. 31: last day of the posted April-through-October schedule. If TN250's hours are still current, this is the last regular Saturday the village is open until spring.
After October 31
The village doesn't close for the winter. Weekdays continue, and the holidays add evening hours. A Charming Christmas at Cannonsburgh Village runs on Fridays and Saturdays from December 4 through 19, 4 to 8 p.m. The City's listing describes candle-lit rooms with rustic holiday decor, light displays, carolers, live music, letters to Santa, holiday crafts, demonstrations and some special guests. Admission is $5 a person, and ages 5 and under get in free. Tickets are non-refundable and are sold online or at the gate. During the same weeks, regular free admission continues Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. That includes walking through the village and its decorated buildings.
Harvest Days, Village After Dark and Cannonsburgh Christmas make up the village's fall season, according to the City.
The creek being uncovered near the gate
The biggest change at Cannonsburgh is happening beside it. Town Creek runs from Murfree Spring at the Discovery Center to Cannonsburgh Village. It was put in an underground culvert in the 1950s and 1960s, during an urban renewal effort that created Broad Street and raised The Bottoms area. The City is now bringing the creek back to the surface. The plan includes a multiuse trail and plazas that will link the trails and boardwalks at Murfree Spring to the Cannonsburgh Greenway trailhead.
The Murfreesboro Pulse reported in January that the work runs along Broad Street between South Church Street and Cannonsburgh Village. By late February, the City said the new bridge over Front Street was in place. Ryan Maloney of Griggs and Maloney Engineering, which consults on the project, said the water and sewer work in the narrowest part of the site was "more a wrestling match than a dance."
The City's August 4 update showed crews placing river rock in the new creek bottom. Headwalls, a pedestrian bridge, culverts and footers were going in. The update also covered hydrodynamic separators, large concrete units that keep trash and debris out of the creek.
Everything about timing is still a target. In February, the City said Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation will maintain the new urban park once it is finished in late 2026. WGNS reported in April that the creek channel was expected to work by early fall and the full project to be done late in the year. No source we've found confirms the trail is open to the public as of early October 2026. The most recent City update is from August, so the Cannonsburgh office at 615-890-0355 is the place to ask about current conditions near the gate before Harvest Days.
Once it opens, the trail will connect Murfree Spring, where the creek starts, with the cotton gin land that the Horizons Committee turned into a village in 1976.
I've spent my life in Murfreesboro, and Cannonsburgh has been part of it for 50 of those years. If you'd like to talk about downtown, the old gin land, or what the Town Creek work could mean for the blocks around it, Rita Ash would be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
