As prosperity returned following the Civil War, new commercial construction in downtown Franklin rapidly expanded. By the 1880s, a bustling commercial area developed along Main Street in Franklin’s commercial business district and the Franklin Flour Mill Company constructed a new five-story mill two blocks east of the Public Square. Meanwhile, Franklin’s population grew, building new homes to the south and west of town on what had once been farmland. During the early nineteenth century, transportation improvements in Franklin included an interurban streetcar railway connecting Franklin with Nashville, the construction of new state highways, and upgrading older turnpikes, which increased automobile tourism for the city’s historic sites. Like towns across the nation, Franklin’s economy suffered during the Great Depression of the 1930s, limiting new commercial and residential growth during that decade. Likewise, World War II restricted access to construction materials. Few new buildings were constructed during this period. In the 1940s, the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal makework program, renovated the County Courthouse on the public square and constructed a new county jail on Bridge Street. The period after World War II also brought a nationwide suburban boom. Planned neighborhoods with uniform lot sizes and consistent housing styles became the norm. During the late 1940s through the 1960s, Ranch subdivisions began to emerge on the outskirts of Franklin’s historic downtown. In the 1950s and 1960s, Nashville experienced civil rights protests and demonstrations that resulted in the desegregation of public accommodations and schools as well as urban renewal and freeway construction. During this period, many businesses, institutions, and residents relocated to surrounding small towns such as Franklin. As Franklin prospered, the commercial business district expanded outside of downtown Franklin with new shops, offices, and service stations. By the 1970s, the economic focus elsewhere led to a slow decline and neglect of downtown Franklin, resulting in covered up historic facades and empty storefronts. Franklin continued to grow and prosper in both geographic size and population, with a new regional mall, Cool Springs Galleria, opening in 1991 along with a new Interstate interchange, and commercial development continuing to shift out of downtown toward Interstate-65. During that same period, grassroots preservation advocates realized the risk to the future of Main Street and worked toward realized the need for reinvestment back into downtown Franklin and the Main Street Streetscape improvements were implemented. From the 1990s onward, Franklin continued to have high rates of growth and economic development while emphasizing preservation and small-town character. The city has grown into an affluent community and a national leader in the historic preservation movement. Franklin implemented preservation tools that have resulted in the preservation of hundreds of buildings, landmarks, and battlefields and helped bolster Franklin’s reputation as a heritage tourism destination. 39
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