Whodunit at Oaklands: The Boro Clue Party Turns a Civil War-Era Mansion Into a Crime Scene Oct. 10
Somebody is going to die at Oaklands Mansion on Saturday night, at least on paper. The 8th annual Boro Clue Party returns to the historic house on North Maney Avenue on Saturday, October 10, 2026, from 6 to 9 p.m., and the guests are the detectives. The evening benefits the Kiwanis Club of Murfreesboro and the children's causes it supports across Rutherford County.
How the game works
The format borrows from the board game everybody played on a rainy afternoon. This year's victim is a fictional Sir Edmund Blackwood, and guests circulate through the house and grounds gathering clues from costumed characters, many of them played by familiar local faces. Each ticket comes with guess cards; players use them to name the culprit, the weapon and the room. Costumes are encouraged, and the whole point is to dress the part.
General admission opens at 6 p.m. and includes complimentary valet parking, two drink tickets and one guess card. VIP guests arrive an hour early, at 5 p.m., with reserved patio space, appetizers, four drink tickets and two guess cards. The bar pours draft beer from Murfreesboro's own Cedar Glade Brews, red and white wine and a house vodka cocktail called The Whodunit; VIP adds champagne and a specialty cocktail. Extra drink tickets are $5 each or five for $20. The party is for adults 18 and older, and a valid photo ID is required at the door. The event is produced by Wild Goose Chase Events, which sells tickets through its own site.
A house that has seen real drama
Few buildings in Middle Tennessee are better cast for a mystery. Oaklands began around 1818 as a two-room brick home for the Maney family on land Sallie Murfree Maney inherited from her father, the Revolutionary War colonel the city is named for. Additions in the 1820s and 1830s, and finally an Italianate front, turned it into one of the grandest houses in the region.
Its history is not all parlor games. In July 1862, after Confederate cavalry under Nathan Bedford Forrest swept into Murfreesboro, the wounded Union commander, Col. William Duffield, surrendered the town in a room at Oaklands. That December, Confederate President Jefferson Davis stayed with the Maneys while visiting troops in the area, weeks before the Battle of Stones River. Today the house is a museum that also tells the story of the people enslaved on the Maney plantation, including blacksmith David Maney, whose descendants now serve on its board.
Why the Kiwanis connection matters
The Kiwanis Club of Murfreesboro has run youth sports leagues for more than four decades and organizes regular hands-on service projects for local schools and charities. The Clue Party has grown into one of its more creative fundraisers, with proceeds supporting children's charities and youth organizations in the county.
Make a night of it downtown first: the Square is in the middle of Downtown Murfreesboro Restaurant Week through October 11, and our guide to eating and shopping around the Square has dinner covered. Families looking for something spooky without the cocktails can browse our Halloween 2026 family events guide.
Image: illustrative, AI-generated – not the actual location.
