Capitol of State of Franklin - 1C 70 - Greeneville, TN
Posted by: 
vhasler
N 36° 09.861 W 082° 49.708
17S E 335538 N 4003726
Replicate cabin which was used as the capitol building for the short-lived State of Franklin.
Waymark Code: WM6D85
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 05/16/2009
Views: 14
Sign text:
This is a replica of the building which is believed to have served as the capitol of the State of Franklin from 1785 until 1788 and which originally stood near the intersection of Main and Depot streets. At constitutional conventions held there, competing proposals engendered bitter controversy and resulted in the first political pamphlets produced west of the Appalachians. Chief protagonists were three Presbyterian clergymen, Rev. Samuel Houston, Rev. William Graham, and Rev. Hezekiah Balch. The Franklin Legislature, which also met there, challenged the authority of North Carolina by passing laws to levy taxes, raise a militia, establish courts, authorize the performance of marriages, and open a land office.
Marker is located on North College Street north of East Church Street - and across from the city hall.
From the book Marking Time by Fred Brown, pages 116-119, we learn that the original cabin was moved in 1897 to Nashville by the governor for a delayed centennial celebration of the Overmountain Men, who had fought at King's Mountain. The cabin was dismantled and transported to Nashville for the celebration. After the festivities, Greene County asked the governor for return of their historical piece. The governor later admitted that the State of Tennessee had lost the building... (government at work) Thus the need for a replicate.