Franklin, Tennessee

The European-American community of Franklin was founded October 26, 1799, by Abram Maury, Jr. (1766–1825). Later a state senator, he is buried with his family in Founders Pointe. Maury named the town after national founding father Benjamin Franklin.[9][10]

Ewen Cameron built a log house, the first by a European-American in new settlement. Cameron was an immigrant, born February 23, 1768, in Bogallan, Ferintosh, Scotland. He immigrated to Virginia in 1785 and traveled into Tennessee along with other migrants after the American Revolutionary War. They displaced the indigenous tribes that had historically occupied this region. Cameron died on February 28, 1846, after living 48 years in the same house. He and his second wife, Mary, were buried in the old City Cemetery. Some of his descendants continue to live in Franklin.

This area is part of Middle Tennessee, and white planters prospered in the antebellum years, with cultivation of tobacco and hemp as commodity crops, and raising of purebred livestock. Many migrants came from central Kentucky, where they had raised these crops and livestock. Through the antebellum years, white farmers depended on numerous enslaved African Americans as workers.

During the Civil War, Tennessee was occupied by Union troops from 1862. Franklin was the site of a major battle in the Franklin–Nashville Campaign. The Second Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, resulting in almost 10,000 casualties (killed, wounded, captured, and missing). Forty-four buildings were temporarily converted to use as field hospitals. The Carter, Carnton, and the Lotz[11] plantation houses from this era are still standing and are among the city's numerous examples of historic architecture.

After the war, there was considerable violence in this area as whites attempted to dominate the majority-black population of freedmen and assert white supremacy.[12] In 1866 the Ku Klux Klan, a secret organization of insurgent white Confederate veterans, was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee. Soon it had chapters in many towns, including Franklin, as well as chapters in other Southern states.

After Tennessee authorized African Americans to vote in February 1867, well before the Fifteenth Amendment was passed, most freedmen and formerly free people of color joined the Republican Party. White Democrats struggled to suppress their voting. For instance, on July 6, 1867, a political rally of Union League black Republicans in Franklin was disrupted by Conservatives, who were mostly white but included some blacks. Later that evening, what became known as the "Franklin Riot" broke out. Black Union League men were ambushed by whites at the town square and returned fire. An estimated 25 to 39 men were wounded, most of them black. One white man was killed outright, and at least three black people died of wounds soon after the confrontation.[13][14][12]

On August 15, 1868, in Franklin, Samuel Bierfield became the first Jewish man to be lynched in the United States. He was fatally shot by a large group of masked men believed to be KKK members. They attacked him for treating blacks equally to whites in his store. Bowman, a black man who worked for Bierfield and was with him at his store, was fatally wounded in the attack and soon died.[15]

After the Reconstruction era, white violence continued against African Americans, rising toward the turn of the century in what has been called the worst point of race relations. Five African Americans were lynched in Williamson County from 1877 to 1950, most during the decades around the turn of the century, a time of high social tensions and legal racial oppression in the South.[16] Five African Americans were lynched by white mobs in Williamson County.[17] These murders took place in Franklin, when men were taken from the courthouse or county jail before trial. Among them was Amos Miller, a 23-year-old black man who was forcibly taken from the courtroom by a white mob during his 1888 trial in a sexual assault case, and hanged from the railings of the balcony of the county courthouse.[18] The sexual assault victim was a 50 year old woman.[19] On April 30, 1891, Jim Taylor, another African American man, was lynched on Murfreesboro Road in Franklin by another mob for the killing of a white man.

A memorial to Confederate soldiers was erected in 1899 by fourteen women of the United Daughters of the Confederacy to honor Confederate soldiers, including the 6,125 casualties of the Battle of Franklin.[20] A news report described how as the last piece of the statue was being raised, a buggy ran into a rope, causing the statue to swing into the shaft, breaking out a piece from the hat of the figure. This event has given rise to the monument's nickname by many of "Chip."[21]

Population growth slowed noticeably from 1910 to 1940 (see table in Demographic section), as many African Americans left the area in the Great Migration to northern industrial cities for jobs and to escape Jim Crow conditions.

One of the first major manufacturers to establish operations in the county was the Dortch Stove Works, which opened a factory in Franklin in 1928.[22] The factory was later developed as a Magic Chef factory, producing electric and gas ranges. (Magic Chef was prominent in the Midwest from 1929.) When the factory was closed due to extensive restructuring in the industry, the structure fell into disuse. The factory complex was restored in the late 1990s in an adaptation for offices, restaurants, retail and event spaces. It is considered a "model historic preservation adaptive reuse project."

Since the late 20th century, however, Franklin has rapidly developed as a residential and business suburb of Nashville, Tennessee, which has been a catalyst of regional economic growth. Franklin's population has increased more than fivefold since 1980, when its population was 12,407. In 2010, the city had a population of 62,487.[23] As of 2017 Census estimates, it is the state's seventh-largest city. In 2017, the City of Franklin was ranked the 8th fastest-growing city in the nation by the U.S. Census Bureau, increasing 4.9 percent between July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017.[24]

Many of its residents commute to businesses in Nashville, which is 20 miles (32 km) to the north. The regional economy has also expanded, with considerable growth in businesses and jobs in Franklin and Williamson County.

The city's enhancement and preservation of its historic assets has helped attract new residents and tourists. This work in the historic preservation movement was catalyzed by passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. City residents have worked to identify and preserve its most significant historic assets. Five historic districts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as are many individual buildings.

As part of the "Fuller Story," a statue of a soldier of the United States Colored Troops, to mark the contributions of African Americans in ending the war and reuniting the Union, is planned to be erected in front of the old courthouse. This project was approved by the mayor and city council. In 2018 the first of several planned historic plaques was installed; these will mark the history of slavery, the Reconstruction era and Jim Crow, and civil rights.[25]

Franklin is home to another soldier memorial, on the grounds of the Williamson County Archives, which honors Williamson County servicemen who served in American wars from the Creek War to the Gulf War.[26] Around the seal of Franklin are placed engraved bricks that radiate around it in a circle. The largest brick is in honor of George Jordan, a former slave who fought in the Indian Wars in New Mexico, and the only Williamson Countian to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

In the early 21st century, leaders of historic preservation and city churches have worked to recognize the lives and contributions of African Americans to Franklin and the area. Since the 2015 Charleston church shooting in South Carolina and the 2017 Charlottesville car attack at a protest in Virginia, four local leaders developed a proposal for the "Fuller Story" as a project of Franklin public history. This is a series of historical plaques to be placed at the courthouse square to enlarge the history represented there. For instance, the square is known by many as the site of a former slave market in the antebellum years, when slavery was central to Middle Tennessee society, but there has been no official acknowledgement of this past.

According to the City's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[34] the top employers in the city are:

The city is served by the Williamson County School District and the Franklin Special School District.[39]

Local private schools include Battle Ground Academy, Benton Hall School, Franklin Classical School, Franklin Christian Academy, Grace Christian Academy, Heritage Covenant School, Montessori School of Franklin, New Hope Academy, St. Matthews Catholic School, and Willow Hall Academy.[40]

• Belmont University, Williamson Center campus, is in Franklin. The O'More School of Interior Architecture and Design was previously in Franklin until the fall of 2019.
• Columbia State Community College, Franklin campus. This satellite campus of Columbia State was opened in 2016 after being constructed for this purpose. It is a two-year college, serving a nine-county area in Middle Tennessee.[41]
• Lipscomb University, a SPARK satellite campus, is here.
• University of Phoenix, Franklin Learning Center
• Williamson College

In addition, such major institutions as Vanderbilt University and Fisk University, a historically black university, are located in nearby Nashville. They each include a full range of professional and graduate programs in addition to undergraduate colleges.

Interstate 65 passes through the eastern part of the city and provides four exits in the city. U.S. Routes 31 and 431 intersect in the city, and form a concurrency, connecting the city to Nashville to the north. U.S. Route 31 connects the city to Spring Hill and Columbia to the south, and US 431 connects to Lewisburg to the south. State Route 96 connects the city to Murfreesboro to the east, and Dickson to the west. State Route 246 also connects the city to Columbia to the southwest, and serves as an alternative to US 31. State Route 441 begins in the northern part of the city, and connects to Brentwood. State Route 397, also designated as US 31/431 Truck and Mack Hatcher Memorial Parkway, serves as a bypass around the business district of the city to the east. Other major thoroughfares in Franklin include Cool Springs Boulevard and McEwen Drive, both of which have interchanges with I-65.[42]

The Water Management Department operates a system that provides water and sewer services to city residents and residents of surrounding areas.[43] Electricity is provided by the Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation (MTEMC), which serves several of the suburban counties of Nashville and purchases power from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).[44] Natural gas is provided by Atmos Energy.[45]

Pilgrimage is a music festival put together by Kevin Griffin, who lives and works as a musician in Franklin. Premiering in 2015, it draws nationally prominent acts from a variety of genres. Pilgrimage is held in late September and takes place at The Park at Harlinsdale. In addition to musical acts, it features children's activities, food, and a marketplace showcasing local crafts.[47]

Franklin's Main Street Festival involves artisans, four stages, two carnivals, and two food courts installed in the historic Franklin Square and Downtown District. Arts and crafts booths run from First to Fifth Avenue.[48]

Pumpkinfest is an annual fundraiser for the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County, held on the Saturday before Halloween. The holiday theme is carried through activities including music, children's amusements, local artisans, and food.[49]

Dickens of a Christmas is celebrated every second week in December, attracting approximately 50,000 visitors yearly. It takes place in Historic Downtown Franklin. Costumed volunteers masquerade as figures from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Music and dancing are a big part of the festival, and local school and church musical groups often perform. Victorian cuisine is served to visitors, and an arts and crafts bazaar features prominently in Public Square.[50]