This rustic old building is the Beesley Primitive Baptist Church in Rutherford County, Tennessee. The church began in 1805 as the Overall Creek Baptist Church and services were held in this very spot. The congregation eventually transitioned with the Primitive Baptist Movement and changed its name. An initial log building was erected here in 1805 and was eventually replaced with a frame building around the 1830s. During the Civil War, the Battle of Stones River raged around the church and tradition has it that Federal officers used the building as a headquarters. On March 13th in 1913, a tornado ripped through Rutherford County destroying many buildings and killing several people. It also destroyed the brick church building on this site. That same spring, members came together to raise money to build this final building that was completed that same year.
It’s not a fancy place, but it’s a historical landmark for Murfreesboro. The cemetery on the property has graves of those who lived back in the 1700s. The cemetery and church have been on the National Register of Historic places since 1999.
