Oaklands Mansion Offers “Free Day”

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Free admission is offered to everyone for “Free Day” May 13 at Oaklands Mansion. All activities are free and open to the public.

Guests can experience civilian demonstrations on the grounds from the 19th Alabama Civilian Civil War Reenactors 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the grounds. They tell the story of what civilians traveling with occupation forces would have been doing in and around Murfreesboro during the Civil War.

The Tennessee State Button Society displays their collections of vintage buttons of all varieties in Maney Hall. Guests can experience games on the lawn, children’s dress-up; nature walks to the spring, and visits to the heritage vegetable garden and tour the mansion.

While enjoying the activities throughout the day, grab a bite to eat from Puckett’s Trolley and a drink from “Off the Wagon” craft beer truck. Vintage base ball game takes place 2 p.m. by members of the Tennessee Association of Vintage Baseball.

James Maney and his wife Sallie Hardy Murfree began their plantation with the construction of a modest two-room cabin, circa 1818. By 1860, their home had been drastically enlarged and was the center of a nearly 1,500-acre plantation, and one of the most elegant mansions in Tennessee. After the Maneys sold Oaklands in 1884, it passed through a succession of owners.  When the last resident left in 1954, the mansion sat vacant and vandalized for five years before being scheduled for demolition.  Fortunately, a group of concerned local women mobilized to save the mansion and formed Oaklands Association, a non-profit educational organization, in 1959. The mansion was opened to the public within a year.

For more information, visit www.OaklandsMansion.org.

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