On March 5, 1863, a Federal force commanded by Col. John Cobrun marched out of Franklin and headed south along Columbia Pike in search of Confederate forces. They encountered Gen. Earl Van Dorn’s men, who routed them near Thompson’s Station. Five weeks later, on April 10, a sharp skirmish was fought along Lewisburg Pike when Van Dorn advanced from Spring Hill to probe the Federal defenses. Much of the fighting occurred in the Berry Farms areas south of Franklin and Van Dorn’s men were repulsed. On June 9, 1863, two Confederate spies were hanged near Fort Granger, and within a couple of weeks most of the Federal troops evacuated Franklin and headed east to Murfreesboro. There they joined Gen. William Rosecrans’s army, which was about to launch the Tullahoma Campaign. For the next year and a half only small Federal detachments were present in Franklin, as the front pushed south to beyond Columbia. The war returned to Franklin in force on November 30, 1864, and the Battle of Franklin changed the history of the town forever. POST CIVIL WAR-ERA (1865-1929) After the Civil War, new commercial construction in downtown Franklin rapidly expanded. By the 1880s, a bustling commercial area developed along West Main Street in Franklin’s commercial business district (NRHP 1972). The corridor featured a plethora of shops and businesses including a cobbler, a dentist office, bakeries, butchers, pharmacies, barber shops, hotels, grocery stores, and two large liveries. Allen Nevils Crutcher Williams opened the A.N.C. Williams Store (NRHP 1972) on West Main Street just after the Civil War. Mr. Williams was a prominent Black entrepreneur in Franklin, and this was the site of his general store for over sixty years. Residential neighborhoods stretched to the north, south, and west of the Public Square. Educational facilities included the Franklin Academy on Main Street and the Tennessee Female College operating on Margin Street. 1868 Franklin builds its first City Hall on the northeast corner of the Public Square. Allen Nevils Crutcher Williams opens A.N.C. Williams Story on West Main Street following the Civil War. (Source: Lovely Franklin) Main Street in Downtown Franklin today. The corridor featured a plethora of shops and businesses including a cobbler, a dentist office, bakeries, butchers, pharmacies, barber shops, hotels, grocery stores, and two large liveries. 49
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