More battlefield in peril

[larry_cockerham]

Franklin about to eat more hallowed ground.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....90101/70423025

[william42]

That would be a darned shame. 70 acres is a fairly large tract of land, and I'd hate to see a Burger King and a nail salon, and/or a quick oil change joint go in there. Strip malls and/or retail stores have no place on Civil War battlefields. I don't know how the process works, but it seems the NPS would step in at some point to preserve the land. Or maybe the NPS is waiting for a private group or individual to buy it and preserve it, so they don't have to spend the money.


Terry

[larry_cockerham]

William, the NPS as far as I know doesn't buy, just operates. There are several pieces of property not completely developed between Winstead Hill and the Carter House. This tract is on a main thoroughfare, Columbia Pike, the same route used by both armies prior to the Franklin battle Nov 30, 1864. It is valuable commercial property. Hopefully local planning officials can preserve some portions of it in the development process and at some point include some interpretation of the battlefield. The Franklin preservation group has worked wonders in recent years after a slow start during the first 140 years or so.

[larry_cockerham]

Sunday, 04/22/07

Battlefield slice to come at bargain price
City moves to buy Collins' Farm from preservation
group

By KEVIN WALTERS
Staff Writer


FRANKLIN — More Franklin battlefield land could soon
be owned by the public.

City officials can give final approval this week to a
$45,000 deal to buy the Collins' Farm property,
located at 418 Lewisburg Ave., which was a scene of
heavy fighting during the Battle of Franklin.

Since 2001, the former farm has been owned Save The
Franklin Battlefield Inc., a local preservation
nonprofit that raised $227,000 to buy the farm's 3.4
acres rather than see the land be developed for
commercial uses.

If given final approval by aldermen this week, the
farm would be added to the growing list of battlefield
land to be maintained by the city and included in
larger plans for a Civil War battlefield park.

"The city made an offer to us to take it off our
hands," said Joe Smyth, president of Save The Franklin
Battlefield. "We always purchased and raised money for
the property with the intent that it would one day be
part of a proposed Franklin battlefield park."

House an uncertainty

That countywide battlefield park would include sites
across Williamson County, including Franklin's
110-acre eastern flank of the Battle of Franklin park
off Carnton Lane as well as a quarter-acre site at the
intersection of Cleburne Street and Columbia Avenue.

While city officials prize the land as part of its
expanding portfolio of battlefield properties, many
remain uncertain about the house on the property,
though it dates to 1866 or 1867. It was once the home
of former Carnton Plantation manager William C.
Collins.

The house isn't mentioned in any account from Civil
War soldiers at the battle nor does it appear on any
map, according to Eric Jacobson, historian at Carnton
Plantation.

"I have never found a map that lists a house at that
location," Jacobson said.

Yet all agree the property's true value comes from the
bloodshed that occurred there during the Battle of
Franklin on Nov. 30, 1864, when Confederate and Union
soldiers met in furious combat. Jacobson called it
"core battlefield" in fighting that created 8,000
casualties.

"We purchased the property as dirt, not as structure,"
Smyth said.

Jacobson wonders if there might be bodies of soldiers
killed in the battle still buried there.

Meanwhile, Alderman Pam Lewis, who chairs the city's
Battlefield Preservation Task Force, wonders if the
farmhouse might have value. The task force gave
unanimous approval to the sale last week.

"It's still old, and it's another view of rural life
in Franklin," Lewis said. "Could it be a house museum
at some point? I don't know."

But why $45,000?

It's unclear how the sale price of $45,000 was
determined.

"It's more than giving it away and less than market
value," said Sam Huffman, treasurer of Save The
Franklin Battlefield, when asked about the price
during the task force's meeting.

Mayor Tom Miller said the price was set by Save The
Franklin Battlefield, and the city's purchase will
mean adding a conservation easement to the property to
prevent it from being changed.

The purchase will come to city aldermen Tuesday
without a public hearing. While not a certainty, the
land's purchase seems to fall in line with the
majority of opinion of city aldermen who have
previously approved earlier battlefield purchases.

The eastern flank property cost $5 million — half of
which came from city money and the rest from grants
and private donations — and the Columbia Avenue site
cost $300,000.

It's the $45,000 expenditure that bothers Alderman
Dodson Randolph, who represents Ward 3 where the
property is primarily located.

"Right now I don't think we need it," Randolph said.
"Everybody says, 'Oh, it's a good deal. It's just
$45,000.' Everything is just something. … In the
overall concept of the city, this just even isn't
important to me."

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....2/1352/RSS0609

[larry_cockerham]

Last Saturday I ventured to Ft. Grainger in Franklin, TN which was in full celebration of Arbor Day, believe it or not. One of the more prominent booths was commanded by the Save the Franklin Battlefied contingent. These gentlemen were offering two free tours of the large earthen fort which served as the headquarters of Gen. Schofield during the battle and was the home to 18 or so yankee cannon. My aching legs carried me slowly up the aging boardwalk to the summit of the hill where I discovered six yankee soldiers, among them one Steven Cone dressed in battle attire and armed to the gills with very heavy reproduction weapons. In our group were several young men ages about 5-10 who eagerly watched the firing demonstration and spent several very valuable minutes meeting and learning detailed history from these six men. Volunteers all, taking time out of their busy lives to help preserve the history of a hallowed ground and pass an interest in things civil war to our next generation. Steven even took a bullet from a skilled Confederate sniper and tumbled gently to the ground during the demonstration. Our thanks to these men. They deserve our applause and support.

[william42]

That sounds like a great way to spend the day. Would've liked to have seen that, especially if Mr. Cone were present.


TW

[larry_cockerham]

Battlefield's future hits a crossroad
Thursday vote may clear path for 26 commercial spaces
on hallowed Columbia Ave. land

By RACHEL STULTS
Staff Writer


FRANKLIN — A tract of open land known for its place in
Civil War history could be developed for commercial
and retail space if Franklin planning commissioners
vote to move forward with development plans for the
property.

The Franklin Municipal Planning Commission will vote
Thursday on a preliminary plat to develop the Werthan
property — 70 acres of green space along Columbia
Avenue that was once a Civil War battlefield — into 26
lots for eventual commercial spaces.

It was the site where Confederate soldiers, marching
north toward a line of Union soldiers just south of
the Carter House, took fire early on Nov. 30, 1864, in
the Battle of Franklin.

Preservationists and city leaders say they're not
surprised to see the Werthan property, which now sits
amid a sea of auto shops and gas stations — eyed for
development.

"It's a shame of course that it'll be developed, as
big a battlefield property as it is," said Joe Smyth,
president of Save the Franklin Battlefield. "But
certainly it is zoned commercial, and it's more of a
shame that it's been zoned for commercial for 20-odd
years."

The high price tag of $7 million to $8 million has
probably kept many from developing the land thus far,
says Franklin Alderman Pam Lewis. But it was only a
matter of time, she says, before the property, which
has been on and off the market for about 20 years,
would be planned for development.

She wants the land to remain open space, and wishes
the city's proposed Transfer of Development Rights
program, which aims to promote land conservation by
allowing owners to sell development "credits" to other
landowners in exchange for maintaining open space,
could protect the Werthan property.

"In a perfect world, it would be great to sell the
development rights, for landowners to get their income
and for us to have our cake and eat it, too," Lewis
said. "The whole point in the hours and hours and
hours we spent driving around, meeting and fighting
about stuff is to determine parcels of land we want to
protect. We have an opportunity now to save this . . .
some people would argue this is historically
significant, and more historically significant than
the Eastern flank."

Lewis also has concerns about the potential increase
in traffic on Columbia Avenue that would be brought on
from the project.

Developer Grady Hensley, a Franklin resident, says
developers have had a contract on the land for more
than a year but have moved slowly to make sure the
wishes of Franklin's preservationists are accommodated
while providing an upscale mixed-use center.

Hensley has previously said that there is a genuine
need to develop the land.

"Some of the older businesses that are on Columbia
Avenue now aren't conducive to what Franklin wants to
look like. This might be a good way to help businesses
relocate."

Hensley said Monday that he understands the concerns
of those who don't want to see the property developed.
But the tract has been zoned commercial for decades,
and he notes that the zoning seems to become
contentious only when a developer is looking to build
on the property.

He says he's added several features, such as more open
space, historic easements and walking parks, to ensure
that the land, even if commercial, retains its
historic flavor.

"We're trying to incorporate as much as we can of the
history that goes with the property into what we're
doing," Hensley said.

The tract also falls under the Columbia Avenue
historic overlay district, which would mean
more-stringent guidelines when building.

Planning Commissioners will discuss the proposal
during their regular meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday in the
City Hall boardroom, at 109 Third Ave. S.

[larry_cockerham]

FRANKLIN — Money appeared to drive debate at Tuesday
night's special session of the Franklin Board of Mayor
and Aldermen, but not as you might expect.

The less the board tried to spend, the more it
debated.

A proposal to spend $1.9 million to bury a utility
line for the new Nissan headquarters received brief
comments from the board before a quick, unanimous
approval. The agreement was one of several the board
considered relating to the Nissan project, and the
only one that called for city money.

But a $45,000 purchase of Collins' Farm for the town's
growing roster of Civil War battle sites won approval
only after hand-wringing and irritated words between
board members and an "epiphany" from Alderman Dana
McLendon.

The Collins' Farm, at 418 Lewisburg Ave., was the site
of heavy fighting during the Battle of Franklin at the
end of the Civil War. It now belongs to a local
preservation group that recently offered to sell the
land to the city for $45,000 — well below what it
could fetch on the open market — if the city would
agree to preserve the land.

The city's Battlefield Preservation Plan Task Force
approved the deal last week, but complicating the deal
is a home on the property of dubious historical value.

During Tuesday's meeting, Aldermen Dan Klatt and
Beverly Berger asked Mayor Tom Miller several
skeptical questions about the purchase, wondering if
the price was right, if a different preservation
organization could be found to buy the property, and
how much maintenance of the property was likely to
cost the city.

Joining the debate, Alderman Dodson Randolph added, "I
just have a problem with buying something so the city
can take over maintenance of the property."

Miller broke into the discussion saying he was "very
disappointed in this conversation." He argued the sale
was both a bargain and in line with the board's
longstanding policy of preserving as much "core
battlefield" property as possible, with the long-term
hope of establishing a major battlefield park.

When McLendon's turn came, he said he had arrived at
the meeting planning to vote against the measure, but
had spent the discussion period considering how he
would justify that vote to his children in 10 years if
the town's dreams of establishing a major battlefield
park fell apart. Calling that vision an "epiphany," he
said he had decided to support the deal.

The measure passed 4 to 1, with only Randolph against.

[larry_cockerham]

Name on ROTC building at MTSU to be retained!!

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....705010394/1001

[larry_cockerham]

Sunday, 05/13/07

Franklin hopes to accelerate National Park Service
study / City provides $25,000 for federal assessment
of historic sites

By KEVIN WALTERS
Staff Writer


FRANKLIN — The push to create a national park in
Williamson County now has the backing of Franklin
taxpayers.

Aldermen unanimously agreed 7-0 during their monthly
meeting to kick in $25,000 toward an overall $110,000
National Park Service study of the county's historic
sites to determine whether they are suitable for
national park status.

That federal feasibility study will ultimately be a
years-long project that could end up costing more than
$300,000.

Having the city's money helps keep the project moving
forward and could mean that work begins later this
month and then continue through May 2009, officials
said.

"This represents a huge step forward in the
bureaucracy of the National Park Service," said
Alderman Pam Lewis.

The project first began back in 2005 when Congress
first approved going forward with the feasibility
study. While Franklin officials want to see the city's
110-acre eastern flank of the Battle of Franklin
property off Lewisburg Pike become the hub of a
national park, the other Civil War sites throughout
Williamson County would be included as units in the
park.

Spring Hill officials made tentative offers to
contribute money toward the study, but Franklin
officials said they chose to keep funding solely from
them to prevent any potential delays.

Many questions ahead

Because the study is in its preliminary stages,
National Park Service spokesman Bill Reynolds said
options on how the park might be operated and funded
are still undecided.

"Other resource studies for other resources have come
up with a range of different options," Reynolds said.

That might mean state or local management of the site,
a nonprofit consortium managing the site or a
combination of some kind, he said.

"We're not anywhere near that point," Reynolds said.

Meanwhile, the National Park Service has recently
added its 391st site recently as the Sand Creek
Massacre National Historic Site in Kiowa County, Colo.