Exploring and Living in Franklin, Tennessee

This weekend, my sister and my brother-in-law came to visit me and my husband in our current hometown of Franklin, Tennessee. My brother-in-law enjoys history. So we decided to plan a few tours and excursions that would be interesting to him.

We spent the whole weekend in Franklin and I realized that not only is this a really cool town, but I am actually starting to find the history surrounding this area pretty interesting.

Most of the area history involves the Civil War battle, The Battle of Franklin. This was a pretty intense battle during the Civil War. There were over 7,000 casualties of war in one night during this battle.

The Carnton Plantation has an eerie feel to it. So much blood was spilled on those grounds. So much sadness, death and pain. Blood still stains the floors of almost all of the rooms. Also, there's this strange allure of the strong, mysterious Carrie McGavock who lived there. It's no wonder that The Widow of the South has become such a popular book. During the Franklin On Foot walking tour, we encountered a group of women from a book club in St. Louis who traveled to Franklin just to tour and discuss these sights because they read The Widow of the South. Walking through the cemetery is a sobering experience when you start to think that every stone represents a person--someone's son, husband, brother or father--and the stones just go on and on, row after row after row.

Standing at the site of The Carter House, you can almost imagine yourself going back in time. The bullet holes are still so prominent in the walls of the buildings. Again, stories of death, suffering and human limbs piled at least 7 feet high outside of a Carter House window. The Carter House is described as "ground zero" for the Battle of Franklin. The majority of the battle took place right at that spot. Driving home, it felt so strange to think about the fact that our house stands in a development that is just a few short minutes away from that spot. I have no doubts that after all I've learned this weekend, that Civil War soldiers either walked through or camped on our property at one time.

Amidst all of the history, we dined at one of Franklin's newest and coolest restaurants, The Red Pony. It is a very cool, trendy restaurant located in one of the historic downtown buildings on Main Street. The food and drinks were excellent. We loved the atmosphere immediately. We even saw a local celebrity dining at the next table.

I always knew that I liked Franklin. We obviously never would have purchased a house here if we didn't. But now, I am starting to connect with it on a whole new level. Before the weekend ended we purchased a Civil War book and The Widow of the South. We also plan to take a "ghost tour" of the Carnton Plantation next month.

I feel like I owe something to this town since it finally stired up my interest in history after all of these years. I love that I live here. I love that I work here. If you've never been to Franklin, Tennessee and if you are visiting the Nashville area, you may want to consider a visit. I don't think you will regret it.