Franklin built its first city hall circa 1868 on the northeast corner of the Public Square. It likely burned down in 1883 and a new city hall was constructed in 1888, which housed a 300-seat opera house on the second floor. It burned down in 1891. Franklin then built a smaller city hall in 1892 in the same location and rented the upstairs to the Knights of Pythias. It operated until 1959 and still stands today as a coffee house. In 1869, the Toussaint L’Ouverture cemetery was established for African Americans. The story of this community begins in 1873, when William Sugars (W.S.) McLemore subdivided a 15-acre portion of this land into 22 lots. He originally named it “Hard Bargain” because of the tough negotiations he encountered when he first purchased the land in 1866. In 1880, Harvey McLemore purchased four adjacent lots along Glass Street from W.S. McLemore, his former enslaver. The neighborhood now contains around 130 homes. In the 1880s, the Franklin Flour Mill Company constructed a new five-story mill at the site of a former cotton factory just two blocks east of the Public Square. By 1890, other small-scale milling facilities operated within the Franklin commercial district. These mills include the Green Williams Planing Mill, the Wilson and Synan Harpeth River Mills, the Shea and Brown Feed Mill, and the W. L. Johnson Cotton Gin and Sawmill. In 1889 Battle Ground Academy was established. Meanwhile, Franklin’s population grew, building new homes to the south and west of town on what had once been farmland. As these new neighborhoods filled up, more farmland was turned into homes. The newly freed enslaved African Americans built their own neighborhoods. They worked as blacksmiths, barbers, bricklayers, grocers, teachers, and nurses, and operated nightclubs, restaurants, tourist homes, and service stations. A.N.C. Williams, who owned and operated a store, lived on Natchez Street in what was sometimes referred to as “Baptist Neck,” because of the many churches within one half mile that all served the African American community. Another neighborhood for African Americans developed around Church Street between 1st Avenue South and 2nd Avenue South around the same time. By 1910, the neighborhood was known as “Bucket of Blood.” The name may have been a reference to a stabbing where the victim was said to have bled “a bucketful of blood.” The name may also have been a reference to the street of housing owned by the Lillie Flour Mill. This street opened onto 1st Avenue South and had six duplexes that the company leased to employees. The street ended at the back of a livestock barn. 1890 1869 1873 In 1869 the Toussaint L’Ouverture cemetery was established for African Americans. In 1873, formerly enslaved Harvey McLemore purchased land to subdivide and sell to other African Americans. This neighborhood became known as the Hard Bargain Neighborhood. Many small-scale milling facilities were developed throughout the 1880s and 1890s Lillie Mill 50 FRANKLIN, TN | PRESERVATION PLAN
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