County Proposes Project On Portion Of Franklin, Tenn. Battleground Land
FRANKLIN, Tenn. — For over 100 years Franklin’s Battle Ground Academy (BGA) occupied ground just south of the famous Carter House, an area known for especially bloody and intense fighting during the Nov. 30, 1864, Battle of Franklin. Today the controversy about the land’s best use continues as the county enters the planning and debate stage of a project to build a civic building there. After the war most local citizens wanted to move on with their lives and much of the battlefield acreage was covered with houses and businesses. In 1902, BGA, an exclusive boys academy, relocated to this property after its main buildings just across the Columbia Pike burned. Men from Cheatham’s Corps of the Confederate Army of Tennessee attacked the Union lines and faced devastating Union fire across ground that became the school campus. Although the Union lines broke, reinforcements saved the Federals’ day. Gen. John B. Hood’s Army of Tennessee left much of its heart and soul, not to mention its top leadership, dying and bleeding on the battle field. In 1998 Williamson County purchased the school campus. Much to the dismay of local preservationists, the county built a state-of-the-art library on part of the old BGA campus. The academy relocated a few miles away. Since that time the county used many of the old school buildings for various purposes such as storage, classrooms and office space. Many of them are in poor repair. The most visible building, known for its impressive architecture, is Fleming Hall, which is in very poor condition. Its façade is only a front for a leaking and dangerous structure too costly to repair. According to Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson, the county will save the facade and “eventually rebuild the back part of the structure into a senior citizen center and hopefully a small community theatre.” County property manager Al Ritter indicates the work to preserve the façade, demolish the old building and rebuild is in the discussion stages and there are no solid cost estimates. But “not so fast” say local activists who fought the library’s construction on academy grounds and now see another chance to recover land for battlefield park purposes. Save the Franklin Battlefield (STFB) President Mike Walker says the county is again not recognizing the “potential for heritage tourism to boost our local economy.” STFB advocates restoring battle ground to its original state and has been involved in several land preservation battles. Williamson County Commissioner Greg Davis says there has been no comprehensive plan for the grounds since the county took possession and in a “perfect world it would become battlefield.” He added that since the library is on the same ground the county needs to “look at the property in its entirety” before spending additional money. Mayor Anderson says the best use of the land is to build facilities that can citizens can use. “To bulldoze the site is not practical. We have to weigh the pros and cons of the best use of this asset,” he noted. Walker says STFB disagrees with saving structures on this battlefield tract and notes the differing philosophies of the City of Franklin leadership and the county’s. Maintaining structures on battleground when the opportunity comes up to enhance the battlefield is “in sharp contrast to the City of Franklin’s … strong support for our city’s Civil War parks,” Walker said. STFB believes public opinion seems to support razing the buildings and advancing Franklin’s Civil War parks. Mayor Anderson says the county has to weigh the pros and cons of how the property should be used. As it stands now there does not appear to be enough opposition on the Williamson County Commission to block the mayor’s plan. Noting several new commissioners have just been elected Davis said, “Who knows how the vote for this will come down when it is all said and done.”
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