Carter Hill Battlefield Park Will Preserve More Franklin History

The Carter House

Preservation of the Civil War battlefield in Franklin is planning to progress with the buying up and bulldozing of more property along Columbia Ave. as the establishment of Carter Hill Battlefield Park nears completion.

Past the Piggly Wiggly in downtown Franklin there sits a hill split by Columbia Ave. Over the years, the 20 acres on the hill have been home to printing presses, community organizations and the old Franklin High School, making it as much an epicenter of the community as it was the epicenter of an epic battle on November 30, 1864.

Last year, the Battle of Franklin Trust entered an agreement to purchase the Franklin Flower Shop Flower Shop Franklinand CASA buildings located on 1.2 acres of property that neighbors the Carter House and Lotz House, historical Civil War buildings instrumental during the bloody Battle of Franklin.

Though the $2.8 million for the small acreage has not yet been raised, a grant from the National Parks service for nearly $1.3 million has taken a substantial chunk out of the debt. The two buildings must be relocated, not bulldozed, because of their historical value.

Franklin Battlefield preservation groups also talked the state into purchasing the last standing building of the first Franklin High School, the old gymnasium, for $900,000 in order for that land to add to the interpretation of Carter Hill Battlefield Park.

Earlier this year, a strip mall (former site for Domino’s) was demolished to make more room for Carter Hill Battlefield Park and the rebuilding of the Carter House Cotton Gin. Calvin and Marilyn Lehew have agreed to fund the rebuilding of the Cotton Gin to the tune of about $375,000.

Carter hill Battlefield park
Plan for Carter Hill Battlefield Park

For the last three months, the city of Franklin has been working on a budget proposal that would pay the the preservation groups $1.5 million over 7 years with no interest in exchange for the properties owned by preservation groups such as the Battle of Franklin Trust and Franklin’s Charge. This way, the city handles the maintenance of the property while the preservation groups focus on putting up signage and running tours.

Civil War parks in Franklin brought about 100,000 visitors to Franklin last year, according to Julian Bibb, attorney and active battlefield preservationist in Franklin.

“That’s far from where we want to be,” Bibb said. “But that’s way ahead of where we were.”

The Battle of Franklin saw some of the bloodiest hours in American History. Confederate and Union soldiers peppered the Carter House and surrounding buildings with an abundance of bullet holes, and thousands of soldiers on both sides spilt their blood on the site.

The Confederates suffered a crushing defeat, losing more than 6,000 soldiers and multiple generals on that day.

In the 150 years since, Franklin has grown into a bustling metropolis for Williamson County, all while taking steps to maintain the historic character that the town is known for in the 21st century. carter-house-02Multiple buildings in the downtown area appear on the National Register of Historic Places and just about every street has a historical marker boasting of the town’s history.

Carter Hill Battlefield Park seeks to add to that historic preservation. In years to come, preservationists will seek not only to build interpretation for the Cotton Gin site, but also to extend the park further down the hill on Columbia Ave.

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