Franklin has a long history of preserving its historic resources. Preservation has been a decades long initiative using tools that range from recognition to regulation. The Preservation Plan and Battlefield Plan are Guiding documents that assist in directing and using these tools to ensure the community’s vision for the preservation of Franklin is in line with the community’s goals.

The City of Franklin is steeped with a rich history of people, places, and events. The history spans from before the City was established in 1799, the Civil War and the Battle of Franklin, revitalization of the downtown core, and to today with the City being recognized by many sources as one of the best places to visit and live in the South. With all this history, it poses an important question of how do we keep the history we value intact and how to progress into modern times and continue to evolve?

In 2001, the Preservation Plan called out one of the top priorities within the community was balancing elements that the community wanted to retain that involved the character and identity while managing the pace, scale, and the impact of new development. Today the priority remains the same as the Board of Mayor and Aldermen have drafted an updated vision statement in the Spring of 2024: America’s finest Hometown, driven by excellence, balancing preservation and progress.

With needing to balance the past and the future, the need to update the existing Preservation Plan is evident. The City's current Preservation Plan dates back to 2001, while a separate Franklin Battlefield Preservation Plan dates back to 2004.  They are both 20+ years old and many of the goals and action items in both plans have been achieved. A historic preservation plan is the result of a process through which a community establishes its vision, goals, and priorities for the preservation of its historic resources. A historic preservation plan is a city planning document that will guide the city’s historic preservation program and provide a roadmap to achieving its goals. 

Links to Existing Plans:

2001 Preservation Plan

2004 Battlefield Preservation Plan

For more information, please contact the Preservation Planner at Emily.Huffer@FranklinTN.gov or by phone at (615)550-6795.