Rutherford County, Tennessee

Rutherford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 262,604, growing to an estimated 308,251 in 2016, making it the fifth-most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Murfreesboro, which is also the geographic center of Tennessee. As of 2010, it is the center of population of Tennessee.Rutherford County is included in the Nashville-Davidson - Murfreesboro - Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area. Since the turn of the 21st century, it has been the destination of numerous immigrants, who have settled in the area, including many from Somalia and Kurds from Iraq. The proportion of ethnic minorities has risen slowly within the county.HistoryRutherford County was formed in 1803 from parts of Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties, and named in honor of Griffith Rutherford (1721–1805). Rutherford was a North Carolina colonial legislator and an American Revolutionary War general, who settled in Middle Tennessee after the Revolution. He was appointed President of the Council of the Southwest Territory (the upper chamber of the territorial legislature) in 1794.