Mule Day
Mule Day is an annual event in Columbia that celebrates the city's heritage, particularly as it relates to the breeding and sale of mules.[1]
The Maury County Bridle and Saddle Club currently organize Mule Day,[2] which they describe as "an annual celebration of all things related to mules."[3]
Contents
History
A mule is a hybrid of a male donkey (the jack) and a female horse (the mare or dam).[4] Before the mid-twentieth century, mules powered many farm activities in Tennessee.[5] Since Biblical times, mules have been prized above other pack animals for their strength, versatility, and longevity.[6][7]
Mule Markets and Stock Shows (1830s-1930s)
Mule Breeding in Maury County
The breeding and sale of mules began in Maury County in the early nineteenth century. The bartering of mules likely began very early in the county's history.[8][9]
One of the first breeders of mules in Maury County was Jonathan Webster, who arrived in Maury County in 1807 and operated a 1,000-acre farm there until his death in 1843. Webster - a Revolutionary War veteran, planter, slave-owner, and politician - began breeding mules after he recognized mules were a superior alternative to oxen in the cotton field.[10] A state historical marker near Webster's home (which stands in the Cross Bridges community on the Hampshire Pike west of Columbia) credits Webster as the driving force in the commercialization of mules in Maury County.[11][12]
By 1850, Maury County had more mules and asses than any other county in Tennessee.[13] An 1884 pamphlet described the mule industry as the principal livestock industry of the county and claimed that Maury County led the nation in mules "raised and shipped."[14]
The Columbia Mule Market
The Columbia mule market was the dominant market in Middle Tennessee, although other mule markets existed in other towns.[15][16] By the early 1900s the Columbia market was generally regarded as the largest mule market in the South, and the largest outdoor market in the world; though this claim was challenged on one occasion by the mule market in Mayfield, Kentucky.
The Columbia mule market took place in the streets of Columbia on the first Monday of the month from September (or October) through April, with the greatest volume of sales taking place from January to March, shortly before the plowing season began in most of the South. The methods of sale included both public auctions and private transactions, with buyers paying both with cash and on credit. The market attracted both buyers and sellers from across the South; buyers attracted by the quality of mules to be had in Columbia, and sellers by the concentrated demand that ensured their animals would command a premium price. In exceptional years (such as 1935), as many as 10,000 mules were sold in the streets of Columbia.[17][18] The mule market provided economic benefits to Columbia (as dealers needed accomodations) and was supported by the local political leaders and the business community.[19]
Stock Shows and "Breeders' Day"
Chamber of Commerce Era (1934-1950)
The Columbia mule market began to decline in the 1920s due to the increased use of motorized farm equipment rendering mules obsolete.
Bridle and Saddle Club Era (1974-2019)
Events
Parade
Beauty Pageant
Fundraisers
Economic Impact
Controversies and Incidents
Association With Slavery
COVID-19 Cancellations (2020-2021)
Other Mule Days
References
- ↑ "TSLA:Exhibits:Got Mules? A celebration of mules in Tennessee history." Tennessee State Library and Archives. Undated. Web (tnsosfiles.com). 5 March 2021.
- ↑ Christen, Mike. "Mule Day organizers, community group tussle over event's moniker." The Daily Herald. 5 March 2021. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 5 March 2021.
- ↑ Mule Day Office. "About Mule Day." MuleDay.com. Undated. Web (muleday.com). 5 March 2021.
- ↑ Van West, Carroll. "Mules." Tennessee Encylopedia of History and Culture. 1 March 2018. Web (tennesseeencyclopedia.com). 8 March 2021.
- ↑ Van West, cited above.
- ↑ Bennett, Mike. "Mules, mankind share a common history in modern world." The Daily Herald. 28 March 2012. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 8 March 2021.
- ↑ Orr, Gilbert MacWilliams. "The Mule." in Orr, Lois Harlan and Orr, Gilbert MacWilliams Jr. Mule Day Remembered. Franklin, Hillsboro Press, 2002. pp. 1-2.
- ↑ Orr, Gilbert. "Columbia's Mule Day Started in 1933 with $150." in Orr and Orr. Mule Day Remembered. pp. 9-10.
- ↑ Mike Bennett states in his Duck River Valley Chronicles work that the first mules were brought to Columbia for sale in November 1826, though it is not stated by Bennett what source he relied upon. Bennett, Mike. The Duck River Valley Chronicles. Self-Published e-Book. 2009. p. 129 (61 in section). Web (issuu.com). 9 March 2021.
- ↑ Eades, Brian. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Webster Farm, Cross Bridges, Tennessee. Murfreesboro, MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, 1996.
- ↑ Barber, Judith. "Jonathan Webster." hmdb.org. 8 Feb. 2013. Web (hmdb.org). 8 March 2021.
- ↑ Note that others have also been claimed as the originators of Maury County's mule industry; an item in the 1 Sept. 1876 Herald and Mail stated that Thomas Amis and Amzie Caruthers first began breeding mules around 1830 near Culleoka; this claim was repeated (but not directly cited) in the 2010 Mule Day program. "Hurricane Switch Items." The (Columbia, Tenn.) Herald and Mail. 1 Sept. 1876. p. 3. Web (newspapers.com). 8 March 2021; "A History of Mule Day." in Mules Build A Strong America: Mule Day 2010, Columbia, TN April 8th - 11th. Columbia, Mule Day Office, 2010, p. 14. Web (issuu.com). 9 March 2021.
- ↑ DeBow, J. D. B. (Superintendent of the Census). The Seventh Census of the United States: 1850. Washington, Robert Armstrong, 1853, pp. 583-584 (Table XI for Tennessee). Web (cornell.edu). 8 March 2021.
- ↑ Maury County, the blue-grass region of Tennessee. Its agricultural and mineralogical resources, including a view of the county seat, the city of Columbia. Her commerce and industries, schools and churches, past development and future possibilities. Facts for practical minds. Columbia, Herald Book and Job Rooms, 1884, p. 8. Web (hathitrust.org). 8 March 2021.
- ↑ "Abundant Housing for Mule Market." The (Columbia) Herald. 17 Oct. 1919. p. 2. Web (newspapers.com). 9 March 2021.
- ↑ For examples of other mule markets, see for example the indoor market held in Decherd, which promoted itself as being in friendly competition with the Columbia mule market. Priest, J. Percy. "Places and People: Decherd Refuses To Be Licked In Mule Mart War; Invites Charlie McCarthy to Run May Auction." The Nashville Tennessean. 15 March 1938. p. 10. Web (newspapers.com). 9 March 2021.
- ↑ Julian, Olin. "Columbia Mule Market Is Best In Many Years; Dealers Estimate More Than 10,000 Animals Will Be Shipped From Maury County Before Season Closes; Buyers Throng City Today." The Nashville Banner. 4 Feb. 1935. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 9 March 2021.
- ↑ Neel, L. R. "A Farmers' Mule Market That Runs Without Commission Or Advertising." The Country Gentleman, vol. LXXX, no. 11, 13 March 1915, pp. 508-509. Web (hathitrust.org). 9 March 2021.
- ↑ See "Business Men Endorse Stand Mayor Cherry." The (Columbia) Herald. 9 Jan. 1920. p. 2. Web (newspapers.com). 9 March 2021. In 1920, a controversy arose over a letter asking the city to enforce a "blue law" and ban mule dealers from coming into Columbia on Sundays, which was problematic due to the fact that the market day was held on Mondays. Mayor W. O. Cherry (with the enthusiastic support of the community) offered the second floor of City Hall as temporary accomodations for mule dealers who were unable to find a place to rest their heads on the sabbath.
