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Battlefield slice to come at bargain price
City moves to buy Collins' Farm from preservation group
By KEVIN WALTERS
The Tennessean [Nashville, Tenn.]
April 22, 2007
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."
Eric
City moves to buy Collins' Farm from preservation group
By KEVIN WALTERS
The Tennessean [Nashville, Tenn.]
April 22, 2007
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."
Eric
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