One Land - Two Warriors - Two Grants

One Land - Two Warriors - Two Grants. . Side 1 , Lieutenant Colonel Hardy Murfree- , Military Land Grant , Hardy Murfree was a lieutenant colonel in the Revolutionary War and played a significant role in many major engagements. He was awarded a military land grant of 5,760 acres in what was to become Williamson County,Tennessee. This spot would be the center of that grant. In 1807, he moved here from North Carolina with his children. He died suddenly in 1809 at his unfinished home, Grantland, near the banks of Murfree Fork Creek. Murfree's probate records indicate he owned 23,332 acres in 12 middle Tennessee counties, plus tracts near Zaneville, Ohio. His seven heirs inherited $10,170 worth of land each, plus ownership of nearly 100 enslaved persons. In 1811, the state of Tennessee renamed the town of Cannonsburgh Murfreesboro in his honor. His seven children were prominent in the area for decades.

Side 2 , Hugh Leeper (Leiper)-Pre-Emption Grant , Hugh Leeper and his brother James came with James Robertson in 1779 to settle the Cumberland River area which is now Nashville. Both were signers of the Cumberland Compact and both defended Fort Nashboro from Native American attacks. James died in the Battle of the Bluffs in 1781. Hugh, a surveyor, received a North Carolina pre-emption land grant of 640 acres dated January 18, 1784 for his services in establishing and defending the Cumberland settlement area. Leeper chose to place his pre-emption grant here near the Beaver Spring which happened to be in the center of Lt. Col. Hardy Murfree's military grant. Leper’s claim pre-dated that of Murfree and he was declared the rightful owner. It is widely accepted that Leiper's Creek, Leiper's Fork Creek and the village of Leiper's Fork were named after Hugh Leeper.