May is National Preservation Month and the Heritage Foundation is making every effort this month to raise awareness about the places that matter in Williamson County.
This Place Matters is a national campaign during Preservation Month that encourages people to celebrate the places that are meaningful to them and to their communities. Through This Place Matters, the Heritage Foundation hopes to encourage and inspire an ongoing dialogue about the importance of place and preservation. In honor of Preservation Month, the Heritage Foundation is celebrating by hosting several events. Check out our 31 Days of Preservation action items and get involved in Preservation Month!
May 1 — Share this list on social media and compete with your preservation pals to see who can check the most off this list. (And follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, if you aren’t already!)
May 2 — The Big Payback, hosted by The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, is a community-wide giving day that celebrates Middle Tennessee’s spirit of generosity and supports the life-changing work of area nonprofits. Kicking off at midnight on Thursday, May 2, the 24-hour online giving day helps organizations, like the Heritage Foundation, raise much-needed funds and bring awareness to pressing needs in our community. Support the Heritage Foundation and our mission to preserve the places that matter in Williamson County by donating at https://www.thebigpayback.org/williamsonheritage. #BigPayback
May 3 — Take your This Place Matters swag from the National Trust to your favorite historic site. Share your photos of historic places. #ThisPlaceMatters!
May 4 — Tour the McLemore House, open Saturdays 10 am to 2 pm. Managed by the Williamson County’s African-American Heritage Society, the home is located in the Hard Bargin neighborhood.
May 5 — Reserve your spot with the 2nd Annual Cornhole Tournament, produced by NextGen at the Leiper’s Fork Distillery. Sign up: https://williamsonheritage.org/cornhole
Shop Local Week
May 6 — Shop in downtown Franklin for Shop Local Week!
May 7 — Attend the McPhail Open House & Ribbon Cutting for the Downtown Franklin Association from 10:00 to 11:30 am. Take a short tour of this little building, built in 1815 and learn its long history.
May 8 — See a show at the restored 1937 Franklin Theater. Tickets: https://www.franklintheatre.com/all-events/
May 9 – Tour the Lotz House, a Civil War House Museum. Plan your visit: https://www.lotzhouse.com/plan-your-visit
May 10 – Become a member of the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County. Membership: https://williamsonheritage.org/membership
May 11 — Take a Hard Hat History Tour of a National Historic Landmark in downtown Franklin. Tours of the Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7 are offered by the Historic Franklin Masonic Hall Foundation Fridays and Saturdays throughout each month. Tickets: https://hfmhfoundation.org/visit/#tours
End Shop Local Week
May 12 — Take a self-guided walking tour of downtown Franklin. Pick up a brochure from the Williamson County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
May 13 — Have a picnic at Pinkerton Park and take a short hike to the Civil War-era Fort Grainger.
May 14 — Attend the Heritage Foundation’s annual meeting and preservation awards. https://williamsonheritage.org/annualmeeting
May 15 — Research your historic property at the Williamson County Archives using their research guide.
May 16 — Get your mug shot taken at the LeHew Magid Big House for Historic Preservation. Located in the Old Old Jail, the 1942 jailhouse is the home of the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County.
May 17 — Signup for Heritage Foundation of Williamson County’s Newsletter. https://williamsonheritage.org/newsletter
May 18 — Toss a bean bag into the cornhole for the 2nd Annual NextGen Cornhole Tournament at Leiper’s Fork Distillery.
May 19 — Take a field trip to Boiling Springs Academy in the city of Brentwood’s Primm Park. The 1830s schoolhouse, restored by the city, is open the third Sunday of each month, April-October, from 2:00 – 4:00 pm.
May 20 — Take a walk in one of Franklin’s eight historic districts: Adams Street, Boyd Mill Avenue, Downtown Franklin, Everbright Avenue, Franklin Road, Hincheyville, Lewisburg Avenue and Natchez Street.
May 21 — Travel the Tennessee Whiskey Trail with stops at H. Clark Distillery in Thompson’s Station and Leiper’s Fork Distillery.
May 22 — Learn about the more than 300 African-American men from Williamson County who joined the Union Army during the Civil War at the Fuller Story.
May 23 — Bike the Natchez Trace. The 440 mile historic route begins in Nashville and extends through western Williamson County to Natchez on the Mississippi River.
May 24 – Get tickets to the Heritage Foundation’s Symposium. Tickets:
May 25 — Tour the Battle of Franklin battlefield. Tours given each Saturday at 10 am by the Battle of Franklin Trust.
May 26 — Read an issue of the Williamson County Historical Journal. Published since 1970, the Journal is an essential source of historians and preservationists.
May 27 – Take a hike at Preservation Park in Thompson’s Station. The 200-acre park preserved land on which the Battle of Thompsons’s Station took place on May 5, 1863.
May 28 — Explore the Bowie Nature Park in Fairview. The 722-acre park, protected the Land Trust of Tennessee, has 17 miles of winding trails through wetlands, grasslands, pine forest, oak/hickory forest and low bottom wetlands.
May 29 — Check out a book on historic preservation from the Williamson County Library.
May 30 — Spend an hour or two at Nolensville Historic School Museum. Operated by the Nolensville Historical Society, the museum is open each Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and the first Saturday of each month from 10:00 am to noon.
May 31 — A take a friend to Historic Carnton and the Carter House to learn about the Battle of Franklin.