A state trust fund board voted (today/yesterday) to grant a coalition of non-profits 900-thousand dollars to purchase a piece of the Franklin Battlefield.
The 112-acre site is former home of the Country Club of Franklin and was purchased in 2005 by the city and the group Franklin’s Charge for a total price of just over 5-million dollars. The land sits between the Carnton Plantation and the Harpeth River, site of the eastern flank of the fighting.
When the country club went up for sale, Franklin’s Charge took out a loan to cover what money didn’t come from pledges. This grant pays the difference.
The group’s co-chair Julian Bibb says state involvement gives the battlefield reclaimation project more legitimacy. He says it also frees up money to pursue more land for preservation.
“The key ingredient on saving the Eastern Flank is that it was a widespread, community effort. That is the type of success that will need to drive these other projects, and we are in a position to seek to do that.”
Preservationists have their eyes on four other battlefield sites in the Franklin area, though no deals have surfaced. While city leaders and non-profit groups have collected several tracts in recent years, plans are still in the works on how to connect them all.
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