The Brady C. Jefcoat Museum of Americana is a museum in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, USA. Operated by the

Murfreesboro Historical Association Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropoli ...

, the museum houses a collection of American artifacts from the 1850s to the 1950s collected by Brady C. Jefcoat of

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

, a local plumber, electrician and general contractor. The museum's collections include an assortment of glassware, household domestic items, farm tools and equipment, period furniture and many other artifacts. Item collections include toasters, washing machines, irons, churns, music boxes,

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

s, Daisy air rifles,

mousetrap A mousetrap is a specialized type of animal trap designed primarily to catch and, usually, kill mice. Mousetraps are usually set in an indoor location where there is a suspected infestation of rodents. Larger traps are designed to catch other s ...

maple syrup Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tree ...

taps,

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...

equipment, mounted animals and dairy equipment filling more than 17,000 square feet of display space. There are over 18,000 items on display. Opened in 1997, the museum is located in the old Murfreesboro High School. Brady C. Jefcoat spent 35 years collecting everyday objects, with phonographs being among his favorites. As the story goes, the Smithsonian wanted to display the collection, however, Jefcoat decided to give the items to the Murfreesboro Historical Society. In their hands, he was assured the entire collection would be displayed The historical society then turned the old Murfreesboro High School into a museum, filling it with the collection. The attention given to these everyday items is astonishing. Each room in the museum has a theme, for example, one room is dedicated to washing machines. Then there are the lovely small collections housed in the hallways, such as a shelf filled with decorative tape measures. The annual

Roanoke-Chowan Pork-Fest The Roanoke-Chowan Pork-Fest is an annual event held each May on the grounds of the Brady C. Jefcoat Museum in Murfreesboro, North Carolina. Largely a barbecue cooking contest, funds from the event benefit the maintenance and operation of the Museu ...

, a North Carolina

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

cooking competition, picnic and festival, is held on the grounds of the museum each May to raise money for the museum's maintenance. The Association also owns and operates the William Rea Museum, tours of the Dr. Walter Reed House, John Wheeler House, the Agriculture and Transportation Museum, the Vincent-Deale Blacksmith Shop, the Evans Tinsmith Shop, the F. Roy Johnson Print Shop, the Winborne Historical Law Office and Country Store, and the Hertford Academy. The Association's office is located in the

Roberts-Vaughan House Roberts-Vaughan House is a historic home located in the Murfreesboro Historic District at Murfreesboro, Hertford County, North Carolina. It was built about 1805, as a two-story, five-bay, Federal style frame dwelling with a gable roof. The fro ...

References

External links

Murfreesboro Historical Association
*
Video tour
from UNC-TV
Roanoke-Chowan Pork-Fest

Roadsideamerca.com's offbeat attractionsAtlasObscura attractionYelp Listing
Museums in Hertford County, North Carolina History museums in North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-museum-stub