HERITAGE FOUNDATION OF FRANKLIN AND WILLIAMSON COUNTY HIRES DIRECTOR OF PRESERVATION
Annabeth Hayes joins the non-profit’s team to aid efforts in county-wide preservation and advocacy.

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County has hired Annabeth Hayes as director of preservation. Hayes will assist the Heritage Foundation in efforts of preservation throughout Williamson County, along with education and advocacy for the non-profit organization.

“I am thrilled to have Annabeth join our team later this month,” said Bari Beasley, CEO of the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County. “Her education, professional experiences at Colonial Williamsburg and the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, along with her desire to be part of our Williamson County community make her a great fit for the Heritage Foundation. I look forward to all that she will accomplish as she focuses on education, advocacy and preservation throughout Williamson County.”

Hayes joins the Heritage Foundation after working on an architectural preservation project with the Grainger Department of Architectural Preservation at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Prior to her work with Colonial Williamsburg, she served as a graduate research assistant at the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, working alongside historian Dr. Carroll Van West on local history exhibits and historic preservation projects from Memphis to Chattanooga, African American neighborhood projects in Alabama and North Carolina and a history and heritage plan for Rockdale Plantation located on the Trail of Tears in Georgia.

David Garrett, chairman of the Heritage Foundation board of directors added, “This is an important position to the Heritage Foundation as we continue preservation projects throughout Williamson County. We look forward to Annabeth’s leadership and guidance in this position and are confident that she will make a wonderful addition to our team.”

Prior to her professional experience, Hayes earned her B.A. in history from Rhodes College and completed the 2017 Summer Institute in Southern History and Culture at the Museum of Early American Decorative Arts in Salem, North Carolina. She is completing her M.A. degree in public history with a concentration in historic preservation at Middle Tennessee State University under the direction of Dr. Carroll Van West.

About The Heritage Foundation

Since 1967, the nonprofit group has been dedicated to protecting and preserving Williamson County’s architectural, geographic, and cultural heritage of Franklin and Williamson County and to promote the ongoing revitalization of downtown Franklin in the context of historic preservation. For more information on the Heritage Foundation, visit https://williamsonheritage.org/.