The bucket was built in 1887 by the Tennessee Red Cedar Woodenworks Company from Murfreesboro, Tennessee.[1] It was originally displayed in Murfreesboro, until it was displayed at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the 1904 Saint Louis World's Fair.[1] The cedar bucket factory burned down in 1952, and local grocer Crigger’s Market bought the item to display it.[2] It was auctioned off in approximately 1965 and it was purchased by a Rossville, Georgia, amusement park.[1] It was returned to Murfreesboro in 1976 to be displayed at Cannonsburgh Village.[1]
On June 19, 2005, the bucket was burned by arsonists.[3] The fire was put out before any adjacent buildings were burned down.[3] Roadside America described the condition of the bucket as "Severely damaged, the bucket is now blackened and splintered charcoal shards held together by metal bands."[3]
On October 22, 2011, a refurbished bucket was unveiled at the 35th annual Harvest Days Festival in Cannonsburgh Pioneer Village. In a partnership between Roy Haney’s sawmill in Cannon County and the Rutherford County Blacksmiths’ Association, high quality, rare red cedar was collected to restore the bucket to its former glory.[4]
