Group purchases core battleground property

[scone]

Group purchases core Battleground property

Strahl Street land was Carter House garden

By KEVIN WALTERS
Staff Writer

FRANKLIN — Days before the 142nd anniversary of the Battle of Franklin, the Carter House Association Inc. announced the purchase of a new piece of the battleground property near the museum's doors.

The property, formerly the homestead garden of the house's builder, Fountain Branch Carter, is located at 124 Strahl St. and is currently occupied by a house, a mobile home and other buildings.

The property had been owned by Chris Waller. The deal was closed Nov. 14. Terms were not released.

"Through diligent planning and saving, the Carter House Association has purchased this approximately one-half acre of property, which is part of the core battlefield adjacent to the Carter House," said Rusty Womack, president of the association's board of directors, in a prepared statement. "Through the years, the association has been trying to reclaim the battle site, which was at the epicenter of where the Battle of Franklin occurred."

This purchase is the latest high-profile acquisition of battlefield land, adding to the overall recovery of battlefield property thought lost to time and development.
Those other purchases include:

• Last year, the city paid $300,000 for roughly a quarter of an acre near the intersection of Columbia Avenue and Cleburne Street. The park commemorates where Confederate Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne was killed during the Battle of Franklin.
Cleburne died near where a cotton gin once stood as four Confederate divisions met Union forces on Nov. 30, 1864. In the battle's aftermath, more than 8,000 casualties were recorded.

• Officials also spent $2.5 million last year for the city's share of the $5 million former Country Club of Franklin property. That land is considered to be part of the eastern flank of the battleground.

It is currently being studied by a consulting firm as a possible battlefield park.
The latest purchase near the Carter House was a longtime goal for Carter House supporters and was completed without using public money, said Gene McNeil, treasurer, past president and 18-year member of the association's board of directors.
Officials have a variety of plans for the newly purchased land, including restoring it to the way it looked circa 1864, re-creating the breastworks, entrenchment and other features of the battle site.

But those won't happen for at least a year. According to the sale agreement, residents of the properties will be allowed to remain one year, until they are able to relocate, then the reclamation of the land will begin to take place over a period of years as additional funds are raised for restoration and interpretation of historical features of the property.

"In a year, after the house, mobile home and accessory buildings are vacated, we plan to clear the property of the mobile home and accessory buildings, open up the land by eliminating the fences and make it more a part of the entire Carter House property," McNeil said.

The Carter House was the scene of some of the heaviest and most gruesome fighting during the Battle of Franklin. Built in 1830 by Fountain Branch Carter, the Carter House is a nonprofit museum and interpretive center for the Battle of Franklin.

[larry_cockerham]

This was great news! 'Guess I need to start paying my $3 museum entry fees.