On June 27th The Tennessean reported that the National Park Service (NPS) had committed nearly $500K toward the battlefield preservation efforts in assisting Franklin’s Charge purchasing the Holt property. Franklin’s Charge had announced on June 19th, 2008 that they had signed the paperwork to purchase the property which sits upon the epicenter of the action of the Battle of Franklin (11/30/1864), where the original Carter cotton gin stood.
We have now learned that the Park Service has confirmed that the funds have been released so that Franklin’s Charge can pay down the debt for the property’s acquisition.
This is a major step in the eventual Franklin battlefield park that is planned by Battle of Franklin Trust. It is hoped that the few acres now surrounding the Holt House and the small mini-market (see map below) will be converted into a battlefield park before the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Franklin – November 30th, 2014.
To learn more about the Holt property please refer to this page that links to numerous blog posts on the subject.
Former Holt estate, now owned by Franklin’s Charge.
The Battle of Franklin, November 30, 1864 