Heritage Foundation breaks ground on Franklin Grove Estate and Gardens

The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County and other community leaders held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday for the foundation's largest preservation project, Franklin Grove Estate and Gardens, which is expected to be complete at the end of 2025.

The future five-acre landmark will be located at the site of the O'More College of Design property at 4th Ave. South and South Margin Street and will feature an art museum, a historic African American segregation-era Rosenwald schoolhouse, an innovation center for local start-up businesses, and natural gardens and green space.

“Legacy projects like Franklin Grove don’t just happen. In addition to the hard work of the Heritage Foundation staff, our board, volunteers and the community at large, it’s also the heartfelt generosity of our donors who made this possible," Heritage Foundation President and CEO Bari Beasley said. "This will be a gem of the region and an inspiring cultural destination for generations to come.”

The site's historic Perkins-Winstead Mansion will be repurposed into the Robert N. Moore Museum of Art, which will feature a rotating gallery space, while 3.5 acres of the estate will be dedicated to open green spaces, water displays, seasonal plant and flower exhibits, and formal gardens as well as the site's approximately 200-year-old McDowell Oak Tree.

The Lee-Buckner Rosenwald School, the last remaining Rosenwald African American School in Williamson County, has been relocated to the site where it will be preserved as an immersive historic experience.

"It's like a part of me," Former Lee-Buckner student Georgia Harris said. "I'm just so thankful for the Heritage Foundation for working so hard to get the school here. It's been a hard time, and for a while I thought it wasn't going to happen, but it is, it's happening, and I'm so excited that it's going to be sitting on this plot."

The LeHew Mansion, which is located across the road and will be a part of the future estate campus, now houses the first innovation and entrepreneurial center in Williamson County, made possible by a partnership with Williamson Inc. The center offers local start-up businesses office space at below-market rates to encourage their success and growth, while retaining local talent. 

“Not only have we brought the property back to a historic name, but we’re bringing many of the elements back to their original use to create a sense of place, timelessness and beauty for all people to engage with education, art, history, nature and community,” Beasley said.

More information about the project can be found here.