Shacklett Historic Photograph Collection
During his lifetime, Richard “Dick” Shacklett captured much of the history of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County through his camera. Shacklett took a job as a photographer’s assistant while in high school in the 1930s. After serving in World War II, he returned to Murfreesboro and opened his own studio, Shacklett’s Photography, which he operated until his death in 1994. After his passing, Richard’s children, Bill and Gloria, took over the family business that is still in operation today. In 2010, the Shacklett family donated over 30,000 historic images to the Rutherford County Archives to be preserved and presented to the general public. In addition to the thousands of pictures taken by Dick Shacklett, the collection also contains restoration negatives, also known as “copy negatives,” that he took while restoring older photographs for customers. Altogether, these photographs and negatives represent one of the largest collections of historical images in the state of Tennessee. These images record the history of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County from roughly the 1860s to the 1980s.
Community Photograph Collections
How many old pictures do you have stuffed in a drawer or tucked in a box in the attic? The County Archives is currently searching for these valuable old images of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County. Our goal is to scan and digitize historic photographs from the community to create a “digital photo archives” for our patrons. The best part of this project is that we are able to preserve the images while YOU keep the originals! Please contact us for more information about this project.
Please Note: that due to the constraints of copyright laws, as well as donor restrictions, our historic photograph collections are not currently available online. However, these images can be viewed at the Rutherford County Archives during our normal hours of operation. If you are unable to visit the Archives, please contact us for assistance in accessing these collections.
Pricing
Prints:
In house print of any image on normal copy paper will be $1 per image.
Note: Students using images for a school project can request up to 20 image prints on normal copy paper free of charge. After the first 20 images students will be charged $1 per image.
Scanned Images:
Scanned images transferred onto patron’s drive or email will be free of charge for the first 25 images. After the first 25 images patrons will be charged $1 per image.
Publication:
Patrons requesting photographs to include in a publication or for profit use will be charged $1 per image used.
