Franklin dig uncovers base of Civil War cotton gin

It took three tries to find the foundation of the Carter family's cotton gin, said Larry McKee, who headed an archaeological dig at the site off Columbia Avenue in Franklin.

In 2009, archaeologists first tried to find the spot where the building — a key landmark in accounts of the Battle of Franklin — had been located. Then, after the site had been mostly cleared in September, workers tried again.

Still no luck.

This week, though, a crew with the engineering firm TRC hit pay dirt — which, in this case, took the form of "good, Middle Tennessee limestone," as McKee put it.

"We guessed where it was a good place to start," he said. "And within a half hour, we found it."

The archaeological work was part of a broad effort by preservation nonprofits, the city and the state to "reclaim" battlefield land for what stakeholders hope will ultimately become a 20-acre park next to the Carter House, which is already a state-owned historic site.

On Wednesday, tall dirt piles stood not far from where, just months ago, a small store and a Domino's Pizza had stood.

Nearby, workers sifted through the muddy, reddish soil. They swept gritty clumps into dustpans and cleaned out fragments of what looked like glassware, as stakeholders marveled at the findings.

"We're ecstatic that they've been able to uncover history," said Franklin Parks Director Lisa Clayton. Though the city doesn't own the land, preservationists say the swath would ultimately become a city park.

In one pit marked off with small yellow flags, whitened bullets that had apparently been dropped in the midst of the battle were embedded in the ground.

"It was sort of a Pompei moment," McKee said. "That was exactly where they were dropped, at the feet of soldiers — it's this direct connection."

The nonprofit Franklin's Charge owns the parcel where the dig took place. Board member Julian Bibb said the finding was a major step toward seeing the park plan realized and toward replicating the cotton gin.

In April, prominent local businessman Calvin Lehew announced that he and his wife, Marilyn, would fund the project, which he estimated would cost about $300,000. The cotton gin building was about 45 by 35 feet and two stories tall.

Altogether, Bibb said, the cotton gin dig cost about $25,000, which was funded in part by Franklin's Charge and in part by a state grant.

Bibb added that a $1.28 million grant from the National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program will go toward purchasing what's known as the Lovell property, across Columbia Avenue from the cotton gin site, for the park.

Battle of Franklin Trust CEO Eric Jacobson said the cotton gin will be key in creating a full picture of history.

He said that the invention and rise of the cotton gin looms as a transformative force in the country's history — serving as a painful reminder that slave-picked cotton was long "the backbone" of the American economy.

But despite the cotton gin's importance, he said, "few people have ever seen one."

Franklin Alderman Mike Skinner looked over the work. He said it was remarkable how "different maps, different memories" had been pieced together to create a picture of the site, which would be built over a few times over the decades, including in 1889 when a school that eventually became Battle Ground Academy was built there.

"I think (the park and rebuilt cotton gin) will be a good interpretation of life in Franklin," he added.

Reach Jill Cowan at 615-664-2150 or on Twitter @jillcowan.