Grantlands was built about 1813 near the west fork of the Stones River near Murfreesboro. It was built by the daughter and son-in-law of Col. Hardy Murfree. Col. Hardy Murfree (1752-1809) served in the Revolutionary War and rose in rank from captain to lieutenant colonel. Afterward, he was given 1,200 to 6,000 acres by Revolutionary War grants in 1783, and he enlarged that to vast holdings of 22,000 acres by 1796 in Williamson and Rutherford counties. He and wife Sally Brickell (1757-1802) married in 1780.
At the death of Col. Murfree, his daughter Fanny Noailles Murfree (1783-1843) and husband David Dickinson (1774-1848) inherited over a 1,000 acres north of newly-formed Murfreesboro by the Stones River. They built Grantlands as a 2 story mansion in Southern Colonial style. The property was a vast plantation operation growing corn, grain, cotton, Pears, apples, cherries, peaches and other fruits. The plantation and mansion were named in reference to the “granted lands” of Col. Murfree and passed to his daughter. The Dickinsons also owned extensive plantations in Mississippi.
In 1848, with David’s death, daughter Fanny Priscilla Dickinson Murfree (1816-1902) and her husband William Law Murfree, Jr. (1817-1892) received the property. Several years later, Murfree moved the family to a new home in Nashville called Vauxhall Place. In 1863, during the Battle of Murfreesboro, Grantlands was destroyed in battle and by foraging soldiers.
In 1871, Murfree moved his family back to Murfreesboro into their new home “New Grantlands.” They had financial troubles and sold tracts of land particularly after the deaths of William and Fanny. Their son, William Murfree III, moved away. Two daughters, Fanny Noailles Dickenson Murfree (1846-1941)and Mary Susan Noailles Murfree, continued living on the property; later they moved to a cottage in Murfreesboro.
Mary Susan (1850-1922), became a successful writer under the pen name Charles Egbert Craddock. She was considered Appalachia’s first significant female writer as most of her work focused on Tennessee mountain life. Being sickly the first part of her life, her family vacationed for fifteen consecutive summers at Beersheba Springs to help her health, and in doing so she was exposed to a glimpse of the mountain life in East Tennessee. Her works included “The Dancin’ Party at Harrison’s Cove”(1878), In the Tennessee Mountains (1884), and The Prophet of the Great Smokey Mountains (1885).
After Fanny’s death, eventually, New Grantlands was demolished for a subdivision about 1950. Research in the Grantlands Project with Middle TN State University confirmed urban sprawl and development over the original estate. Broad St. (US Hwy 41) was built over the original site. A K-Mart center is located in the former front yard. The driveway was paved and named Lokey Lane; later it was widened and became part of Medical Center Parkway. The name Grantlands references the granted lands to Col. Hardy Murfree. See also Oaklands
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