Ground Is Broken For New Library On Franklin Field
FRANKLIN, Tenn.

Despite pleas of preservationists and a suggestion of alternative siting, ground was broken on May 2 for the new Williamson County Library in the heart of the 1864 Franklin Battlefield. (May Civil War News)

According to an article in the Nashville Tennessean the county commission two days earlier rejected a plan to move the library to a different part of what had been the Battle Ground Academy campus.

Claims that tourism benefits would outweigh additional costs incurred in changing sites did not matter.

Carrying more weight was testimony from the library board and its architect that additional costs and delays in construction would not benefit the county and that the alternative site doesn’t meet the board’s criteria. Site prominence, convenience to parking lots and natural light were factors cited.