Riverview Bethurum Property

WHY:

• Riverview, also known as the Henry Hunter Mayberry House, was originally constructed in c1902, brilliantly encapsulating the Neo-Classical design popularized between c1900-1920, adapting Greek and Roman styles as a modern American movement for constructing public buildings and private homes. This style typically features elements of classical symmetry, full-height porches with columns and a temple-like front, with various classical ornamentation such as dentil cornices and ornate columns, similarly to the Greek Revival style that once dominated the first half of the 19^th century.

  Though Henry Hunter Mayberry was the son of G.W. H. Mayberry of Beechwood Hall and one of the wealthiest families in Williamson County prior to the Civil War, Henry made his fortune in the Alabama coal and steel industries, creating a solid reputation for himself as a businessman and innovator. Serving as the President of the Franklin Interurban Railway, Mayberry commissioned the construction of Riverview as a surprise for his wife. Building upon the existing two-story structure that already stood on the property, this section of the home became the current-day library and primary suite. As a close friend of George Vanderbilt, owner and visionary of Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, Mayberry perhaps drew his own inspiration for Riverview from Biltmore. Formally situated on twenty-eight acres, Mayberry’s home was the first house in Franklin – and quite possibly the County- to have interior running water, complete with an indoor one-lane bowling alley and a tennis court.

  Since its inception, Riverview has only seen four families inhabit its doors, with Mayberry descendants selling the home in c1942. Since then, the Harlin, Lancaster, and Bethurum families called Riverview home. With a series of more modern upgrades completed by c1940, including the sunroom, a 200-year-old cabin relocated from Kentucky to the property, along with a ten-stall barn that was assembled onsite. By 1977, Williamson Medical Center’s Chief of Surgery and former Franklin mayor Dr. Jeff Bethurum and his wife Amy purchased the home on its now fifteen-acre site. Because of Jeff and Amy’s dedication to Riverview’s preservation while making their own modifications, nearly almost all the original c1902 designs remain intact. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 83,000 square-foot property also includes a barn, smokehouse, and a collapsed springhouse.

  Riverview, located directly on Franklin Road just north of the Harpeth River and historic downtown, went on the real estate market in 2025. Since that time, a development plan was formally presented to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for the City of Franklin, outlining the construction of seven new buildings on the property, including a day spa, a restaurant, a parking garage, and a 120-room hotel sparked significant citizen outcry against the proposed development on the historic property. On April 15, 2026, a neighborhood meeting was held at Battle Ground Academy, residents spoke out regarding concerns over noise, traffic congestion, and the over-commercialization of a primarily residential area north of the Harpeth River. City leaders also expressed that a large hotel does not fit within Envision Franklin’s plan for this area, citing adaptive reuse as a more favorable historic approach over a new large-scale development. The proposed development will require a zoning amendment, which currently faces significant hurdles through the city’s Franklin Municipal Planning Commission. As this potential project moves forward, this historic site will be watched closely and advocated for the best solution-based approach for preserving Riverview in the present and future.