(April 2007) THOMPSON'S STATION, Tenn. - An antebellum home that was in the center of an 1863 battle and 47 adjoining acres have been protected from development with recent donation of a conservation easement by its owners.

Homestead Manor was built in 1809 on Revolutionary War grant land located between Franklin and Spring Hill on the Columbia Pike. The Land Trust for Tennessee (LTT) negotiated the easement on the National Register of Historic Places property.

The March 1863 battle involved Confederate Gen. Earl Van Dorn's cavalry led by Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and Federals led by Col. John Coburn. Union troops on a scouting and foraging mission were defeated when Forrest flanked them, capturing more than 1,500 mostly Midwestern troops. The battle enhanced Forrest's reputation and forced the Union to concentrate more resources in Middle Tennessee.

The LTT works to conserve Tennessee lands with cultural and historical ties that are threatened by development. The once sleepy railroad village of Thompson's Station, as with the rest of Middle Tennessee south of Nashville, is booming with bedroom communities built on land that was once a Civil War corridor. Consequently, many acres of historic properties have been lost.

Developers themselves, Jay and Marcia Franks purchased the Homestead Manor property three years ago and at the time were not very aware of its historical significance.

However, "we soon learned this property is bigger than us," said Jay Franks. His wife said, "After eight months of work on the house, we see it more than just a home. We see it as a museum of not only Civil War history, but decades of history."

By protecting the house and land, there are now plans for some type of "battlefield park" to be developed, according to Thompson's Station Mayor Leon Herron. Indicating that additional acreage may soon come under protective easement, Herron believes support for a battlefield museum and park is real.

Homestead Manor was the "big house" in Thompson's Station and considered the center of the village. During the war the Federal lines held hilltop positions north of the house. Confederates approached from the south.

There was fighting all around the home, as there were numerous charges and countercharges. The house was used as a hospital and refuge. Just to the southwest is the rail depot, a replica of the one that stood during the battle but was later torn down.

With the recent saving of part of the Franklin battleground, the preservation at Thompson's Station enhances the range of heritage tourism opportunities. The Franklin to Columbia Pike route includes the battlegrounds of Franklin, West Harpeth, Thompson's Station, Spring Hill and Columbia.

"The reality of a series of interpretive parks for citizens to get a real feel for fighting along this important war route just came closer to reality," observed Joe Smyth of Save the Franklin Battlefield.

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