Franklin Grove Estate and Gardens

Franklin Grove Estate and Gardens Franklin Grove Estate & Gardens will be a haven of history, art, nature, culture, and education within the heart of Williamson County.

Just a few blocks from downtown Franklin, a former 5.1 acre school campus is in the midst of being transformed into the Franklin Grove Estate & Gardens. Complete with an art museum, natural gardens, historic Rosenwald schoolhouse, community gathering space, and entrepreneurial center, Franklin Grove will serve as yet another charming, historic, distinct, and inspiring destination for locals and vi

sitors to cherish and explore. ART MUSEUM: A historic mansion repurposed as a home for local and international art exhibitions. NATURAL GARDENS: Acres of green space, horticulture, water displays, and places for peace and serenity. HISTORIC ROSENWALD SCHOOL: The story of segregation era African-American education told through the Lee-Buckner Rosenwald School. INNOVATION CENTER: An incubator for local entrepreneurs and start-up businesses housed in the LeHew Innovation Center.

Education has been part of this land for generations.From early learning spaces in the 1800s to its history as a seminar...
05/28/2026

Education has been part of this land for generations.

From early learning spaces in the 1800s to its history as a seminary and later a college of art, this property has long been connected to creativity, learning, and opportunity.

That legacy continues to shape the future vision for Franklin Grove.

Introducing two more core pillars of the Franklin Grove experience: Culture and Education. 📚

Future programming, exhibitions, and community-centered learning experiences will build on the foundation already rooted here, creating opportunities for connection, conversation, and discovery for generations to come.

We look forward to sharing more stories, updates, and behind-the-scenes moments as this vision continues to evolve. We’re glad you’re here! ☀️

There are moments at Franklin Grove where everything slows down.Maybe it’s the shade from a 200-year-old tree or the sou...
05/26/2026

There are moments at Franklin Grove where everything slows down.

Maybe it’s the shade from a 200-year-old tree or the sound of birds in the early morning. Maybe it’s simply the feeling of being connected to the land and the people around you. 🌳

Introducing another core pillar of the Franklin Grove experience: Nature. 🌱

Franklin Grove is being thoughtfully designed with gardens, green space, and gathering areas meant for slowing down, connecting, and enjoying time with the people and places that make Franklin feel like home.

Throughout construction, there has been, and will be, a strong focus on protecting the natural character of the property, including preserving mature trees and caring for the 5.2 acres that make this space so special.🌷

We’re grateful to continue stewarding this land alongside the community that surrounds it.

History lives here… in the buildings, the stories, the people, and the moments that shaped this property long before us....
05/18/2026

History lives here… in the buildings, the stories, the people, and the moments that shaped this property long before us.

Introducing two of the Core Pillars of the Franklin Grove experience: History and Art.

At Franklin Grove, preservation and creativity are deeply connected. Plans for art and cultural experiences are being shaped with the same respect for place, memory, and community that have defined this property for generations.🌷

Understanding where Franklin is today starts with understanding where it’s been, and that thread runs through everything being curated on this property.

We’re excited to continue sharing the stories, history, and vision taking shape here. Thanks for following along with us. This is just the beginning!🌱

For nearly five years, local entrepreneurs have built their businesses inside a restored 19th-century mansion in the hea...
05/03/2026

For nearly five years, local entrepreneurs have built their businesses inside a restored 19th-century mansion in the heart of downtown Franklin.

A preserved building with purpose is one of the most powerful economic investments a community can make.💡

The LeHew Mansion served those five years as home to the Franklin Innovation Center in partnership with Williamson, Inc., bringing entrepreneurs downtown. And now, it’s making way for something equally significant.

Soon, the Moore-Morris History & Culture Center, Williamson County’s first state-of-the-art, interactive exhibition space, will be relocated to The LeHew Mansion as its permanent home within Franklin Grove Estate & Gardens.

Dedicated to telling the full, diverse history of this county, the Center is already at work — taking its mission on the road with mobile programming and community exhibits across Williamson County while the move is underway.

The road to Franklin Grove starts here. ☀️

Follow to keep up with the “Museum Without Walls” and follow along here as The LeHew Mansion prepares to welcome them home on this historic Franklin Grove campus. 🌳

The Lee-Buckner Rosenwald School is one of fewer than 10% still standing in the country today. Now, it stands at Frankli...
05/03/2026

The Lee-Buckner Rosenwald School is one of fewer than 10% still standing in the country today. Now, it stands at Franklin Grove.☀️

The school has been carefully relocated, and exterior restoration begins soon, with interior work to follow. Every decision along the way is being made with the weight of this history in mind.

We are honored to help shepherd this piece of Williamson County’s history back into the light, and are deeply committed to doing it with care it deserves.

If your family has a connection to the Lee-Buckner School, we want to hear from you… because stories survive because someone passed them on.

Your memories, your photographs, and your stories are the things that will make this restoration meaningful beyond the building itself. 🎞️

Reach out at [email protected], and if you know someone with a connection, please share this post.

There’s a reason people feel something when they drive into Williamson County. It’s in the landscape, the history, the q...
05/03/2026

There’s a reason people feel something when they drive into Williamson County.

It’s in the landscape, the history, the quiet sense that this community has been tended carefully and passed down with intention.

Franklin Grove is being built in that same spirit.

🌳Open space and Gardens for slowing down.
☀️Museum of Art within a historically preserved home.
💡Thoughtfully designed History & Culture Center with programming curated for all ages.

Two hundred years of history deserves to be honored slowly, carefully, and completely. Together, that’s what we’re doing as a community.

Join the email list to follow the build from the inside. The link to subscribe and learn more is in our bio. 🔗

05/03/2026

A few years ago, a group of passionate local community members looked at five acres of historic property in downtown Franklin and believed it was worth preserving. 🌳

They shared the same conviction: that this place could become something Williamson County had never had before at the heart of it all.

Bari Beasley, President & CEO of the Heritage Foundation, has been at the table from the beginning. She’s helped shape not just what gets preserved, but how Franklin Grove and the broader Heritage Foundation of Williamson County will serve this community for generations to come. 🌷

Hear from her after a recent Franklin Grove strategic planning meeting in our new series, Behind the Scenes with Bari.

Franklin Grove Estate & Gardens is the single largest preservation project in this organization’s history. Privately funded. Years in the making. Built by this community, for this community.

Keep following along to watch history being made in real time. ☀️

Five acres. Downtown Franklin. One place unlike anything else in Middle Tennessee. A 200-year-old oak tree. A restored A...
05/03/2026

Five acres. Downtown Franklin. One place unlike anything else in Middle Tennessee.

A 200-year-old oak tree. A restored African American Rosenwald schoolhouse. A Museum of Art inside a 19th-century mansion. Three and a half acres of curated gardens and green space. 🌳

All of it in the heart of Williamson County.

If you’re reading this, you’re watching history in the making… and the best of it is still ahead. ☀️

The Winstead Mansion was nearly lost. For generations, this 19th-century mansion stood on this land while the world chan...
05/03/2026

The Winstead Mansion was nearly lost.

For generations, this 19th-century mansion stood on this land while the world changed around it. Now, because of people in this community who recognized its importance, it will become the heart of a destination known as Franklin Grove Estate & Gardens. 🌸

When you walk through those doors, you’ll be standing inside walls that have witnessed nearly two centuries of Williamson County history.

Rotating art collections, educational experiences, and cultural programming… it’s all coming to this historic property that could have otherwise been erased.

Follow along as this mansion, and the five acres surrounding it, come back to life. 🌳

We're honored to announce that our Shumard Oak on the Franklin Grove Estate & Gardens property has been selected for the...
11/15/2024

We're honored to announce that our Shumard Oak on the Franklin Grove Estate & Gardens property has been selected for the TN Landmark, Historic, & Heritage Tree Registry as a "Historic Tree"! 🌳

A huge thank you to the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council for this honor. Pictured above is Chaz Griffith (President of the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council) with Anna Marcum (our Senior Director of Preservation!)

You can become a founding member of Franklin Grove Estate & Gardens today! For $50 annually (with an auto-renewal discou...
05/09/2024

You can become a founding member of Franklin Grove Estate & Gardens today!

For $50 annually (with an auto-renewal discount of $45!), you will gain access to these awesome perks...

- Exclusive Member-only Invitations and Newsletters
- VIP Access to all Heritage Foundation Festival Lounges
- Year in Review Recognition
..And more to come upon opening! Learn more about becoming a founding member with us: https://buff.ly/3yhUvGB

Address

423 S. Margin Road
Franklin, TN
37064

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