
Your Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway in Franklin, TN
READ MORE: Your Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway in Franklin, TNImagine a national park that’s 450 miles long… It may sound impossible, but it exists! Starting in Nashville, Tennessee, and ending in Natchez, Mississippi, the Natchez Trace Parkway is widely recognized as one of the most beautiful scenic drives in the U.S. While you won’t see any strip malls or fast food joints along the way, you will come…

Franklin, Tennessee’s Preservation Success Story
READ MORE: Franklin, Tennessee’s Preservation Success StoryWhen people visit Franklin, they often say the same thing: it feels different here. The streets look like a postcard, the farms roll out like a painting, and yet nothing feels […]

Eat, Drink & Make Merry at the Magical Tennessee Renaissance Festival
READ MORE: Eat, Drink & Make Merry at the Magical Tennessee Renaissance FestivalI used to think Renaissance festivals weren’t really my scene—at least until last year, when my teens asked me to take them to the Tennessee Renaissance Festival. Thanks to that experience, I’ve decided it’s going to become an annual tradition! Each year, the Williamson County Parks & Recreation Department transforms a rural field into the 16th century…

The Fascinating Civil War History of Homestead Manor
READ MORE: The Fascinating Civil War History of Homestead ManorThe American Civil War is at the center of Franklin’s story. In fact, the November 30, 1864, Battle of Franklin broke the back of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, and within six months, the war was over. But the breadth of middle Tennessee’s role in the war goes far beyond that one fateful battle, and the human…

7 Reasons Your Next Franklin Visit Must Include Thompson’s Station
READ MORE: 7 Reasons Your Next Franklin Visit Must Include Thompson’s StationJust a quick drive from Franklin, you’ll find Thompson’s Station, a small town steeped in history and surrounded by Williamson County’s gorgeous pastoral countryside. Settled in the 1780s, the town was the site of the Civil War’s dramatic Battle of Thompson’s Station. Later, farmers drove their cattle, sheep, and pigs to the town’s bustling train depot…

7 Things to Do on a Rainy Day in Franklin
READ MORE: 7 Things to Do on a Rainy Day in FranklinFranklin is one of the few places where a rainy day doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Ducking in and out of the cozy shops and restaurants lining Main Street as steady rain patters outside feels a lot like appearing in the opening scene of a Hallmark movie – Grab a cute umbrella, a steaming cup of…

Guide to Franklin, TN with Kids: Outdoor Fun, History & Sweet Treats
READ MORE: Guide to Franklin, TN with Kids: Outdoor Fun, History & Sweet TreatsOne of the most important things I’ve learned while traveling with kids is that their most treasured vacation memories are often completely unexpected. They’ll forget everything about the famous museum we visit but rhapsodize months later about the fresh-baked cookies in the cafe we stopped at afterward. They’ll pose with bored and irritated faces at…

The Ultimate Guide to a Superb Spring Break in Franklin, Tennessee
READ MORE: The Ultimate Guide to a Superb Spring Break in Franklin, TennesseeIt’s hard to imagine any place more gorgeous than Franklin in the springtime. Flowers bloom everywhere you look and the landscape transforms almost overnight from dull brown to vibrant shades of green. Whether you live nearby or you’re bringing the family to Middle Tennessee for Spring Break, you’ll find plenty of ways to enjoy our glorious…

The Factory: Celebrating a Century of History & Community in Franklin, Tennessee
READ MORE: The Factory: Celebrating a Century of History & Community in Franklin, TennesseeWhen you first walk into The Factory at Franklin, you can feel the history of the building (and the buzz). For 100 years, this space has been transformed from a stove […]

Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee: The Revival of a Small-Town Gem
READ MORE: Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee: The Revival of a Small-Town GemNestled along the winding Natchez Trace Parkway, Leiper’s Fork feels like a place lost in time—but in the best way possible. Victorian cottage-style storefronts lean into each other, guitars hum from open porches, and strangers chat with you as if they’ve known you forever. Today, this tiny village outside Franklin, Tennessee, is one of the…

Perfect Pairings for Making the Most of Fall in Franklin
READ MORE: Perfect Pairings for Making the Most of Fall in FranklinAround here, we live for fall all year long. Something about the misty, cool mornings, golden hour through amber-tinged leaves, hardwood smoke and the sound of high school marching bands […]

How Williamson County’s Farms Draw in Visitors and Keep History Alive
READ MORE: How Williamson County’s Farms Draw in Visitors and Keep History AliveOn June 1, 2019, a serene patch of grass on Franklin’s Gentry’s Farm became the setting for a love story that was more than a century in the making. Mary Morgan Gentry and Charles Hatcher said “I do” beneath a bright blue Tennessee sky, joining together two of Williamson County’s oldest and most notable farming…