CARNTON OPENED AS A MUSEUM A significant Civil War preservation effort occurred in 1979 when Carnton opened as a museum. Located on the south side of Franklin, the property containing the Carnton played a key role in the Battle of Franklin. Built circa 1826 for Randal McGavock, the primary dwelling served as a field hospital during the battle. In early 1866, John and Carrie McGavock designated two acres of land adjacent to their family cemetery as the final resting place for nearly 1,500 Confederate soldiers killed during the battle. Beginning in 1877, Confederate veterans held annual reunions at the Confederate Cemetery at Carnton. In 1892, the reunion drew some 10,000 people. Descendants of the McGavock family owned the historic landmark until 1911. The annual veterans’ reunions continued through October 1927.44 Carnton changed hands only a few times until the 1950s when Dr. William Daniel Sugg (1897–1981) and his wife Ruth Caroline Dickinson Sugg (1901–1988) purchased the property with the intent of restoring it. Dr. Sugg was a native of Franklin who had moved to Bradenton, Florida. However, these preservation efforts did not materialize, and the Suggs rented it to tenants and allowed the property to fall into disrepair. In 1973, the newly formed Heritage Foundation launched a campaign to save Carnton and hosted the inaugural Heritage Ball at Carnton. By 1977, the Heritage Foundation had convinced the Suggs to donate the house and a 10-acre section of the land to the Carnton Association, Inc., a newly formed private organization, for use as a historic site museum. Upon opening in 1979, Carnton became Franklin’s second historic site museum. The association soon initiated a multi-year restoration project (Figure 8). In 1990, the CHP at MTSU completed a master plan for Carnton.45 44 BOFT 2025; NPS SRS 2006:15, 71. 45 BOFT 2025; NPS SRS 2006:15, 77. FRANKLIN CITY HALL RETURNED TO THE PUBLIC SQUARE In 1959, City Hall moved from the Public Square because it lacked the necessary operational space. After the mall on the Public Square failed in the 1970s, local advocates lobbied to purchase the building for use as City Hall. In 1980, the mall was adaptively reused as Franklin’s City Hall. FRANKLIN’S MAIN STREET PROGRAM WAS LAUNCHED Franklin’s Main Street Program was launched in 1984. This effort catalyzed the rehabilitation of multiple commercial building facades along Main Street over the next decade with a total investment of some $3 million. The program began to host festivals to celebrate Main Street and draw people to downtown Franklin as an economic stimulus. THE HISTORIC ZONING COMMISSION WAS ESTABLISHED AND PLANS WERE ADOPTED In 1986, the City created a nine-member Historic Zoning Commission and Historic Preservation Ordinance. In the 1990s, the City implemented a Farmstead Preservation Ordinance, an Archaeological Ordinance, and a Long-Range Plan. All these planning tools were important to preservation of the city’s historic resources. 46 46 Means 2001:6, 11–16. 74 FRANKLIN, TN | PRESERVATION PLAN
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTY1Mzc2