The John Spence House
The historic John C. Spence House at 503 North Maple Street in Murfreesboro, Tennessee is home to the law offices of Kious & Rodgers. The house bears the name of its original owner, John Cedric Spence, a prominent nineteenth century Murfreesboro businessman, industrialist and chronicler of county history. While the exact date of construction of the house is unknown, the earliest history of the house indicates that it was moved from nearby College Street to its present location in 1866. Spence occupied the house until his death in 1890.
John C. Spence operated a successful hardware and grocery store on the downtown square and, aided by the coming of the railroad, built the Cedar Bucket Manufactory, Rutherford County’s first mechanized industry, in 1854. Perhaps his most important legacy, however, is the two-volume set, Annals of Rutherford County: 1799-1870, which he wrote while living in the house. The book is the preeminent source for mid-nineteenth century history in Murfreesboro.
The plot of land on which the Spence House is located was acquired by Spence’s wife, Elizabeth, in 1865 from their son-in-law, William Roulet. Local historians maintain that after the Spences acquired the property, they moved the house, then situated on West College Street, on wooden wheels to their new lot on North Maple Street.
After Elizabeth Spence died in 1884, the house, still in her name, passed to the Spence children, Henry Spence, Florence Spence, and Mary S. Roulet. John Spence continued to live in the house with one or more of his children until his death in 1890. The Spence heirs sold the family house to James A. Moore on January 20, 1891. Moore, a brick and concrete contractor, was responsible for the construction of the roughly six-foot tall brick wall that once defined the southern property line. After James A. Moore died, circa 1930, his son, James C. Moore, bought the house from his sisters and fellow heirs, Kate Moore Overall and Rosa Moore Cannon, for ten dollars on July 26, 1932. The house stayed in the Moore family until James C. Moore sold the house in 1935 to George and Lucy Brown.
Similar to Spence, George Brown co-owned a hardware store on the north side of Murfreesboro’s downtown square called Byrn and Brown Hardware. In 1940, the Browns divorced, and George left both the hardware business and Murfreesboro. In the divorce settlement, Lucy acquired sole ownership of the house and converted it to a boarding house in order to generate an income for herself. In the early 1970’s, Lucy Brown made an unsuccessful attempt to sell the Spence House. While not able to purchase the property, a fraternity at Middle Tennessee State University, Pi Kappa Alpha, approached Brown about renting the entire house from her to use as their chapter house. She agreed, and Pi Kappa Alpha resided in the house from circa 1974 until 1981, when Brown became unhappy with the fraternity’s abusive treatment of the house and evicted the organization. Brown then sold the property to her daughter and son-in-law, Molly and Roger Teague, on June 5, 1981. The Teagues resided in the house until 1985, when a foreclosure put the property back into Lucy Brown’s ownership.
On August 11, 1986, Brown sold the property to the Children’s Discovery House Museum. The museum made several changes to the interior of the house to make room for children’s activities and exhibits. Most notable among the changes, the fireplaces were sealed and mantles removed throughout the house.
Kious & Rodgers bought the Spence House in 2001 and embarked upon a twenty-two month renovation of the property. During the renovation, a deteriorating rear addition (circa. 1941) was demolished and replaced with a new addition that stretches slightly farther back into the yard than the original. Renovations also included the rebuilding of mantles and fireplaces, the refinishing of the original pine floors and the discovery of two sets of original pocket doors.
The house is one of the largest houses on North Maple Street and is similar in style and workmanship to many other Victorian-era homes in Murfreesboro. The façade of the house retains its original Queen Anne wood trim and shingle work, as well as a partial wraparound porch. Both of these elements, as well as its massive two-story brick construction, evoke the construction and decorative trends of the late nineteenth century residential architecture.
Because of its association with John C. Spence, the historic John C. Spence House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 23, 2004.
