As Murfreesboro looks toward the opening of a new police headquarters later this year on Highland Avenue, the city in 1973 celebrated the opening of their current location. During that time, the Rutherford County Historical Society placed a time capsule inside. That time capsule was opened Friday (9-22-17).

Historical Society Orchestrated Event

The "time capsule" was placed at what was then the new Murfreesboro Police headquarters on September 27, 1973. Obviously, much has changed in this city over the past 44-years. That was clearly heard as Rutherford County Historical Society President Frank Caperton read a letter from 1973 Mayor Hollis Westbrooks . . .

(Time: 4-minutes, 54-seconds)

Not only did the Historical Society put the "time capsule" together in 1973, but it opened the box on Friday (9/22/2017).

WGNS spoke with Rutherford County Historical Society's Susan Daniel . . .

Other Comments

Sgt. Kyle Evans with Murfreesboro Police says many of today's current officers weren't even born in 1973...

Evans talks about what it took to take the time capsule out of a stairwell inside the current headquarters...

City Councilman Bill Shacklett says many times, we don't take a look at the past to see how far we've come...

Shacklett says there have already been conversations about creating a time capsule to put into the new police headquarters, which is in the final stages of construction on Highland Avenue...

Evans echoes Shacklett's thoughts on another time capsule in the new police headquarters...

Frank Caperton, president of the Rutherford County Historical Society, talks about what will happen with all of the items from the time capsule...

It looks as if the Rutherford County Historical Society is again offering its services as Murfreesboro Police prepare to move into a new 125,000 square foot state of the art headquarters at 1004 Highland Avenue this coming December. Stay tuned--NewsRadio WGNS will keep you informed.

Watch as representatives of the Murfreesboro Police Dept. and the Rutherford County Historical Society open the time capsule from 1973 above. They remove and talk about each item on this day, Friday (9/22/17).

The Story:

It was September, 1973. Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in the 'Battle of the Sexes' tennis match at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Singer-Songwriter Jim Croce died in a plane crash in Louisiana and the Oakland Raiders ended the Miami Dolphins 18-game winning streak. But what was happening in Murfreesboro, Tennessee?

A new police building had been constructed and the community excitedly gathered to open the new facility, a model law enforcement building designed to serve the 26,360 residents of Murfreesboro. The Rutherford County Historical Society placed a wooden box into the rear stairwell and blocked it in. Next, they left a stone in the wall to remind future occupants of the building of what was behind the block. The stone read: "Behind this stone have been placed articles representative of our community's past."

Today, the MPD is only weeks away from relocating to a new police facility on Highland Ave. Serving a community of over 130,000 residents, the Department has outgrown the old facility. Before the move takes place, the time capsule will be opened and we will pause to remember Murfreesboro, 1973.

On Friday, September 22, 2017, representatives from the Rutherford County Historical Society opened the time capsule.