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FRANKLIN — Another piece of land on Columbia Avenue is closer to becoming part of a proposed Battle of Franklin battlefield park.
The National Park Service confirmed this week its award of $492,000 to the city of Franklin for use in helping Franklin's Charge complete the purchase of the one-acre Holt House property off Columbia Avenue.
The house and land sit at the epicenter of the Battle of Franklin, which was fought on Nov. 30, 1864, where a cotton gin once stood.
The award is part of $977,500 given from the National Park Service this week to local governments in Franklin, Richmond, Ky., and Bentonville, N.C.
"We must honor the memories of those who fought and teach people about the Civil War and its pivotal role in our nation's history," National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis said in announcing the grant.
Priority was given to battlefields listed in the National Park Service's Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields. Money is awarded based on the significance of the land to be acquired and the availability of required nonfederal matching funds.
The money is awarded to the city through the NPS's American Battlefield Protection Program and used by the nonprofit Civil War Preservation Trust to buy the land and then deed to Franklin's Charge.
The grant will be used to help pay down the $950,000 spent back in 2008 to buy the Holt House, said Ernie Bacon, Franklin's Charge president.
The group hopes to eventually purchase the Domino's Pizza restaurant and strip center, which would make up much of where a future battlefield park might go.
"Our goal hasn't changed," Bacon said. "Our vision is by 2014 — the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Franklin — is to have a Battle of Franklin park."
Bacon said negotiations for the Domino's Pizza land are ongoing. In 2005, Franklin spent $300,000 to buy a Pizza Hut restaurant at 1259 Columbia Ave., which was the first piece of the park.
Congress appropriated $9 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to help nonfederal entities acquire and preserve Civil War battlefields, the NPS said.
For those of you who dont know the American Battlefield Protection Program essentially makes battlefield preservation and the CWPT possible.
The National Park Service confirmed this week its award of $492,000 to the city of Franklin for use in helping Franklin's Charge complete the purchase of the one-acre Holt House property off Columbia Avenue.
The house and land sit at the epicenter of the Battle of Franklin, which was fought on Nov. 30, 1864, where a cotton gin once stood.
The award is part of $977,500 given from the National Park Service this week to local governments in Franklin, Richmond, Ky., and Bentonville, N.C.
"We must honor the memories of those who fought and teach people about the Civil War and its pivotal role in our nation's history," National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis said in announcing the grant.
Priority was given to battlefields listed in the National Park Service's Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields. Money is awarded based on the significance of the land to be acquired and the availability of required nonfederal matching funds.
The money is awarded to the city through the NPS's American Battlefield Protection Program and used by the nonprofit Civil War Preservation Trust to buy the land and then deed to Franklin's Charge.
The grant will be used to help pay down the $950,000 spent back in 2008 to buy the Holt House, said Ernie Bacon, Franklin's Charge president.
The group hopes to eventually purchase the Domino's Pizza restaurant and strip center, which would make up much of where a future battlefield park might go.
"Our goal hasn't changed," Bacon said. "Our vision is by 2014 — the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Franklin — is to have a Battle of Franklin park."
Bacon said negotiations for the Domino's Pizza land are ongoing. In 2005, Franklin spent $300,000 to buy a Pizza Hut restaurant at 1259 Columbia Ave., which was the first piece of the park.
Congress appropriated $9 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to help nonfederal entities acquire and preserve Civil War battlefields, the NPS said.
For those of you who dont know the American Battlefield Protection Program essentially makes battlefield preservation and the CWPT possible.