900 East Main St. Murfreesboro, TN
Circa 1900. Large limestone home
Dr. William Caldwell Bilbro (1863-1933) and Florence Jordan Nuckolls Bilbro (1870-1944) lived at on East Main St. The newlywed couple received several acres of land as a wedding gift from Florence's mother (her grandparents were Edward L. and Martha Fletcher of Ewing House). The mansion had corner turrets.
Dr. Bilbro was the son of Dr. Berryman H. and Frances Bilbro. They lived in Milton just east of Murfreesboro. Dr. Bilbro started a medical practice in Murfreesboro. In 1890 he went to Vienna and London to study. Upon his return, he joined in partnership with Dr. E. M. Holmes from Readyville. For many years, he was the Murfreesboro city health official and founded and was president of Murfreesboro Bank & Trust Co.He was also a founder of the new First Baptist Church on East Main St. in 1920.
In 1915, the Bilbro family moved to West End Ave. in Nashville, and Dr. Bilbro joined his son's medical practice. Four years later, in 1919, they sold the Murfreesboro home but retained much of their land. Their son Dr. W. C. Bilbro, Jr. lived on Howell Place in Belle Meade.
After Florence passed away, their lands were developed as Bilbro Subdivision and North and South Bilbro Aves. ran beside it. In 1938, the Bilbro Mansion was demolished by Nile Yearwood, and the Nilewood apartment building erected about two years later. See Ewing House
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