Geographic Center of Tennessee

Geographic Center of Tennessee. . The Tennessee Constitutional Convention in 1834 considered where the permanent seat of state government should be located. A delegate from Williamson County argued that for reasons of equity and convenience, the state capital should be as near the geographic center of the state as could be achieved. The Secretary of State was directed to determine the center point. On Friday, May 30, the Secretary employed University of Nashville mathematics professor James Hamilton to make the determination. On Monday, June 2, Hamilton reported that the geographic center of the state "is one mile and a half east of Murfreesborough." The 1834 Convention did not settle on a site, but specified that the 1843 General Assembly "shall within the first week after commencement of the session, designate and fix the Seat of Government." , Relying on the Hamilton report, Rutherford/Murfreesborough promoters and supporters identified an accessible and available large flat rock two miles northeast of Murfreesborough as the central location for the state capitol. Building corners were staked on the large, exposed bedrock. The 1843 Tennessee General Assembly, however, chose Nashville for the permanent Seat of Government. , Now, an abandoned quarry, the rock that was to be the state capitol is approximately 200 yards due east of this marker.