Historic church approaches milestone
The Tennessean• May 28, 2008
FRANKLIN — Lillian Stewart spends every Sunday sitting in a pew at Historic Franklin Presbyterian Church. The church is the only one she's worshipped in.
While growing up, the future mayor spent more time here than at home, though her family wasn't far away. Her mother and father worked as elders in the church.
"When I grew up, I felt like it was my extended family. Everyone knew my name and they were always supportive," Stewart said. "It was a serious kind of church."
On the eve of the building's 100th birthday, church members have recently completed an extensive, years-long renovation that has mixed preservation with modernization.
Supporters believe the updates can help new members make more memories for themselves into the new century.
Keeping the Romanesque Revival-style building's beauty intact during its renovation didn't come quickly or without great care. Members spent more than $950,000 to refurbish and update the building, taking great care to balance the church's history with modern touches.
The planning and hard work paid off earlier this month when the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County gave its "best overall" preservation award to the church.
The building's stained-glass windows were restored while designers used archival photographs to reproduce the historic carpeting found in the memorial hall, among other tasks.
"It was a carefully thought-out, extensive restoration that sensitively retains original materials and preserves the story of a significant resource in downtown Franklin," said Shanon Wasielewski, city preservation officer.
"It's a beautiful church," the Heritage Foundation's executive director, Mary Pearce, said. "They've been working on it for several years really hard, trying to stabilize it, trying to make it more usable for the new millennium."
It's been done before
Stewart is one of a handful of members who not only can recount the church's history, but also was present during some it.
Although the current building is celebrating its century mark, the birth of the Presbyterian faith in Franklin dates back to 1811, when missionary Gideon Blackburn came from New England to spread the word of his religion to Cherokee Indians, slaves and settlers.
The church's first location was at Fourth Avenue and North Margin Street. That congregation grew so quickly it built a new building in 1842 at the current location at 435 Main St., two blocks down from the original site.
That church would fight to survive.
During the Civil War, much of Franklin was taken over by Union soldiers. The church was used to house materials, supplies and soldiers, who occupied it for several months before moving on, but not without leaving the building in disarray.
Stewart says the building was in such bad shape that it was torn down in 1865. In 1888, a new building was erected.
"At that time, downtown was changing from a residential to a commercial area," Stewart said, and the church grew rapidly along with it, thanks to new settlers and those longing for a place of worship.
The year 1908 would most test the congregation's faith, however. A newspaper headline from that time shared the news: "Beautiful Presbyterian church destroyed by fire."
Although the headline read "destroyed," some historians and church members say the building was only gutted and later restored. Surviving were its first walls and the original pews, which are still in use today.
In 1993, the church would experience another history-making moment.
The congregation far outgrew its building, so a vote was taken and First Presbyterian Church moved to a new building at the intersection of Franklin Road and Mack Hatcher Parkway that could accommodate the congregation's size.
But of First Presbyterian's 875 members, 100 stayed behind, fearful the historic building would be lost. Today the congregation of Historic Franklin Presbyterian Church stands at 300 members.
"Franklin is growing fast and so is our church," Stewart said. "When people move here they tend to feel like our roots are their roots."
The Tennessean• May 28, 2008
FRANKLIN — Lillian Stewart spends every Sunday sitting in a pew at Historic Franklin Presbyterian Church. The church is the only one she's worshipped in.
While growing up, the future mayor spent more time here than at home, though her family wasn't far away. Her mother and father worked as elders in the church.
"When I grew up, I felt like it was my extended family. Everyone knew my name and they were always supportive," Stewart said. "It was a serious kind of church."
On the eve of the building's 100th birthday, church members have recently completed an extensive, years-long renovation that has mixed preservation with modernization.
Supporters believe the updates can help new members make more memories for themselves into the new century.
Keeping the Romanesque Revival-style building's beauty intact during its renovation didn't come quickly or without great care. Members spent more than $950,000 to refurbish and update the building, taking great care to balance the church's history with modern touches.
The planning and hard work paid off earlier this month when the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County gave its "best overall" preservation award to the church.
The building's stained-glass windows were restored while designers used archival photographs to reproduce the historic carpeting found in the memorial hall, among other tasks.
"It was a carefully thought-out, extensive restoration that sensitively retains original materials and preserves the story of a significant resource in downtown Franklin," said Shanon Wasielewski, city preservation officer.
"It's a beautiful church," the Heritage Foundation's executive director, Mary Pearce, said. "They've been working on it for several years really hard, trying to stabilize it, trying to make it more usable for the new millennium."
It's been done before
Stewart is one of a handful of members who not only can recount the church's history, but also was present during some it.
Although the current building is celebrating its century mark, the birth of the Presbyterian faith in Franklin dates back to 1811, when missionary Gideon Blackburn came from New England to spread the word of his religion to Cherokee Indians, slaves and settlers.
The church's first location was at Fourth Avenue and North Margin Street. That congregation grew so quickly it built a new building in 1842 at the current location at 435 Main St., two blocks down from the original site.
That church would fight to survive.
During the Civil War, much of Franklin was taken over by Union soldiers. The church was used to house materials, supplies and soldiers, who occupied it for several months before moving on, but not without leaving the building in disarray.
Stewart says the building was in such bad shape that it was torn down in 1865. In 1888, a new building was erected.
"At that time, downtown was changing from a residential to a commercial area," Stewart said, and the church grew rapidly along with it, thanks to new settlers and those longing for a place of worship.
The year 1908 would most test the congregation's faith, however. A newspaper headline from that time shared the news: "Beautiful Presbyterian church destroyed by fire."
Although the headline read "destroyed," some historians and church members say the building was only gutted and later restored. Surviving were its first walls and the original pews, which are still in use today.
In 1993, the church would experience another history-making moment.
The congregation far outgrew its building, so a vote was taken and First Presbyterian Church moved to a new building at the intersection of Franklin Road and Mack Hatcher Parkway that could accommodate the congregation's size.
But of First Presbyterian's 875 members, 100 stayed behind, fearful the historic building would be lost. Today the congregation of Historic Franklin Presbyterian Church stands at 300 members.
"Franklin is growing fast and so is our church," Stewart said. "When people move here they tend to feel like our roots are their roots."
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