STATE INITIATIVES First established in 2013, the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act prohibits the removal, relocation, or renaming of a memorial that is, or is located on, public property. Should a petition be reconsidered, in 2023, all Tennessee Heritage Protection Act cases will be heard by the Monuments and Memorials Commission.48 While legislation establishing Conservation Easements was first established in 198149, it wouldn’t be until 1999 when the first conservation easement was signed with the Land Trust of Tennessee in Williamson County.50 By 2008, there were 34 conservation easements in Williamson County.51 Since then, more legislation has been passed regarding conservation easements. In 2025, Tennessee passed the Farmland Preservation Act, which created a $25 million fund to help farmers voluntarily protect their land through permanent conservation easements.52 In 2024, the Office of Outdoor Recreation was established in the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to develop and promote the state’s $11.9 billion outdoor recreation economy. A new program of the Office of Outdoor Recreation is BluewaysTN, a program to create a system of water trails or water-based recreation corridors through the state’s 15 rivers. BluewaysTN includes infrastructure development, branding and marketing. In Franklin and Williamson County, the Harpeth River is targeted for inclusion in the program. The Harpeth Conservancy is a lead local partner. 48 https://www.tn.gov/historicalcommission/tennessee-heritageprotection-act.html 49 https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-66/chapter-9/part-3/ section-66-9-303/ 50 https://www.landtrusttn.org/projects/prestonfamily-middletn/ 51 https://www.williamsonherald.com/news/lehews-forever-protectvalley-with-conservation-easement/article_cd239dab-1e0d-5fed-a7ba0221c63cde79.html 52 https://www.landtrusttn.org/blog/the-farmland-preservationact-what-it-means-for-tennessee-farmers/#:~:text=On%20 May%2012%2C%202025%2C%20Governor,land%20through%20 permanent%20conservation%20easements. Already part of the Harpeth River experience is the availability of rafting on the river and hiking, biking, and mountain biking along its path. In addition, the Park at Harlinsdale Farm, with its restored Barn, the Hayes House, the gravesite of Midnight Sun, rodeos, and polo matches tell part of Franklin’s equestrian history. Since its establishment in 1994, the Wars Commission has helped acquire and permanently protect over 8,100 acres of historic properties. With the creation of the Civil War Sites Preservation Grant Fund (CWSPF) in 2013, 1,100 acres of hallowed Civil War ground have been perpetually preserved. Historic Preservation Overlay District Expansions While the local Historic Preservation Overlay was created in the 1990s, it has remained a strong government tool for preservation today as these properties require Certificates of Appropriateness prior to any work being conducted. New historic districts were created, existing districts were expanded, and individual properties were added to the Overlay. The HPO’s growth, however, has slowed. Within the last ten years, only seven individual properties and additional parcels for battlefield parks have been rezoned to be preserved. 84 FRANKLIN, TN | PRESERVATION PLAN
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