Williamson County Jails / The Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County

Williamson County Jails, also, The Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County. . , Williamson County Jails. Williamson County has had seven jails since 1800. Bridge Street has been the location of five. From 1800 to 1816, the first jail was located at 117 Third Avenue North. In 1817, a two-story log jail was built on the west corner of Bridge Street and 2nd Avenue North and stood until 1858. The third jail was built in the same location. It was built of stone and brick with two cells upstairs and two down. In 1905, the county purchased the White Tavern lot and hired Nashville architect T.K. Colley to build a three-story brick jail at a cost of $15,000. By 1941, the fourth jail was deemed inadequate so the county hired J.C. Russell of Nashville to construct this jail, No. 5, of concrete, rock and steel for $25,000. In 1971, the sixth jail was constructed on the adjoining lot for $350,000, and it served the county until the seventh was constructed on Century Court for $5.3 million in 1989., In memory of Mattie Hunter (1895-1979) and Leonard H. (Bill) Armistead, Sr. (1895-1947), The Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County. The demolition of the historic Wilbur Corn House at the corner of Fifth and Bridge and the coming urban sprawl on land farmed for generations alarmed a group of prominent citizens who formed the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County on November 1, 1967. The organization's mission was to conserve the best of the past and plan for the benefit of the future. Since its founding, the Heritage Foundation has worked tirelessly to save historic places such as Roper's Knob, the epicenter of the Franklin Battlefield, to create a vibrant Main Street and to save the Franklin Theatre. In addition, the organization educated and advocated for the preservation of historic resources. In 2016, the organization rehabilitated and moved into the Old, Old Jail, its third location, using it as the first headquarters owned by the organization., In memory of Sue Berry and Ruth Kinnard, Leaders in Preservation