Benjamin Rush Strong was born to Joseph Churchill and Sophronia (Marrs) Strong near McMillan's (Knox County), Tennessee on March 24, 1848. He was one of nine children, including Robert N. (born about 1834), John (born about 1835), Martha Ann (Strong) Monday (born about 1839), Joseph Churchill (born about 1841), Mary (Strong) Borches (1843-1911), Gideon Hazen Strong (1850-1919), William E. (born about 1854), Albert N. Strong (1856-1930), and Horace. B. R. Strong studied at Spout Hollow, Walnut Grove Academy, the University of Tennessee, and Eastman's Business College in New York. He began his business career by investing in a sawmill with his brother-in-law, W. O. Monday, but sold his share after six months. He then invested in a store in Ellistown. Construction exhausted his finances, and in order to earn money to buy stock, Strong taught school in Spout Hollow. He later moved to Straw Plains and finally to Knoxville where he opened a shop on Market Square. Strong made his first sale, a can of lard, to a farmer on December 16, 1876 and celebrated 'Lard can day' for the rest of his life. Strong later took on a partner and changed the store's name to Strong & Co. He eventually sold the enterprise and entered the real estate business with W. M. Epps and Barnabas Braine under the firm name Strong, Braine, Epps, Monday, & Nelson. B. R. Strong was also active in banking and wrote articles for local papers under the pen name Gnorts (Strong spelled backwards). B. R. Strong died on March 2, 1915 in Daytona Beach, Florida and is buried in Old Gray Cemetery.