MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — The owners of a historic home in Murfreesboro made a surprise discovery beneath the wallpaper in their home and it has intrigued state historians.
Mindi and Dennis Stover bought Riverside Farm, a house that was built the 1830s, on Jefferson Pike in Murfreesboro in October. After the owners decided to restore and help preserve the house, wallpaper business owner Lillian Weist discovered about 40 bullets holes underneath the wallpaper in an upstairs bedroom of the home.
Weist dug into the wall with a knife and helped remove some of the pellets, which were round but not without flaws.
"It was pellets from the Civil War Era. The gun maybe misfired. We really don't know the story. But it misfired and shot right next to the window," said Mindi.
The Stover's estimate on the era was pretty close to an opinion from Tim Hyder, a historic preservationist for Tennessee Wars Commission.
"The individual pellets were gang modeled. You can see, if you look at them individually, you have a little flat spot. or they had a little round bit that pokes out that's called a sprew. Which is, most of the time are cut off by hand," said Hyder. "I'd say somewhere between 1860 and 1900. Probably closer to the 1870s or 1880s."
The mystery pellets aren't the only secret the home holds.
According to the Stovers, the home was originally owned by a family by the last name of Pierce and was eventually sold to the Randolphs, who held onto the home until the modern age.
"The house was built in 1831. So, it's obviously one of the oldest houses in the area. And so, just kind of getting into the nooks and crannies and the real kind of cool thing is the originality of it. The wood trim is all original, the floor is original. Pretty much everything is original. Including the outhouse," said Dennis.
The outhouse is a log cabin building behind the home that used to house slaves or servants and eventually became the kitchen for the main house. Above the quarters, an attic proved to be a treasure trove for historic artifacts. Family members of the Stovers found an old scythe and a map of Rutherford County that dates back to 1878.
"Having a house from 1830, it's not like finding something from the 1960s. I mean, every time that we see something historic on the news, it's really funny because we think, wow our house was 50 years by then or wow our house was 20 years by then," said Mindi.
The Stover's also found more recent discoveries, like whiskey bottles they believe were from the time period of prohibition. The believe as they continue to restore the house, more discoveries will be made.
"I feel more like a caregiver of it more than I would in a normal house," said Mindi. "It's walking through the house, you realize that so many people have walked in and out through the doors."
