In the Spotlight

Here's What's Going On and What They're Saying About Us...

Money's list of America's Best Small Cities: Franklin is #52 in the Top 100 Rankings for Best Places to Live. CNNMoney Aug 2012

The 75-year-old movie theater in downtown Franklin, Tenn, came back with live music in 2011 when its doors reopened after a four-year dormant period. An intimate room that seats 300, it has a comforting attractiveness; elegant but not flashy, sparkly but warm, it could be likened to Buckingham’s own guitar playing that evening. Something in the theater’s aesthetic – the lighting combined with the intimacy, the closeness, the quiet – drew a bold line around the artist and matched the music. - Review of Lindsey Buckingham at Franklin Theatre, by Jessica Pace, American Songwriter Aug 2012

 Today, Leiper's Fork feels like a sort of Mayberry-meets-Marfa. Though the town claims a full-time population of less than 500 residents, its proximity to Nashville makes it an easy stop for well-known bands and artists. - article, This is a Story of Small-Town America, Country Living Jul 2012

Livability.com Top Ten Cities for Historic Preservation - Franklin #4: Preservation in Franklin, TN, goes beyond just saving historic buildings...Among the more recent success stories, and there are quite a few here, is the renovation of a movie theater that was built in 1937 and closed in 2007. The Heritage Foundation of Franklin & Williamson County used private donations to purchase the Franklin Theatre and spent $8 million to rehabilitate the historic landmark, which reopened to much fanfare in 2011.The city contains seven historic districts...Within the 16-block downtown district there are Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate and Victorian styles of architecture. May 2012

TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice 2012 award goes to Aloft Hotel in Franklin, TN named to the list of TOP 25 Trendiest Hotels in the U.S. Congratulations!! Jan 2012

Livability.com Top Ten Downtowns - Franklin #10: Looking for the quintessentially cute downtown? Try Franklin, TN for the complete experience. Franklin's historical roots reach deep, dating back almost two centuries, and the city has the battlefields and plantations to prove it. This 15-block historic district includes an eclectic mix of more than 70 boutiques, fabulous restaurants, a round of street festivals and a mix of sweet shops, including Ben & Jerry's. The recently restored Franklin Theatre hosts classic movie screenings and live music, often performed by country stars who live in the surrounding area. Downtown Franklin has received much praise from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Teen pop star Justin Bieber shot a music video for an upcoming Christmas Album on Franklin's Main Street with his girlfriend, actress Selena Gomez. Now that's just cool. Oct 2011

Franklin voted Best Town to Visit in Middle TN by 2011 Best of Tennessee Readers' Choice Awards - Tennessee Magazine Sep 2011

Franklin is named to the top six list of 'Most Beautiful Towns' in America by Rand McNally/USA Best of the Road Contest. Jun 2011

The historic Frankin Theatre reopens in grand style as a restored art-deco venue for movies and live musical entertainment. Jun 2011

Busy Bee Trader 2011 Reader's Choice Winners include 'Best Day Trip': Franklin, TN and 'Best Antique/Used Bookstore': Landmark Booksellers! May 2011

The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Franklin's Main Street as one of the five "Most Romantic Main Streets" in America. Feb 2011

Franklin is one of "8 Terrific Walkable Towns" - Where to Retire Magazine, Sep 2010.

Patrick Martin, owner and pitmaster at Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint in Nolensville, returns to New York City to represent the great state of Tennessee and cook at the 2010 Big Apple Barbecue Block Party. Only the most elite of pitmasters can compete in this Super Bowl of barbecue. Martin, a former bond salesman who switched career paths a few years ago, will join 17 other pitmasters from across the country. Williamson Herald May 2010

Bloomberg BusinessWeek Ranks Franklin No. 8 Best City for Startup! According to the magazine, factors weighed were the number of startups, quality of workforce, number of patents, universities and venture capital. BusinessWeek.com Apr 2010

More than 175,000 lucky Tennesseans live nestled in the green rolling hills of what is, when adjusted for the cost of living, America's wealthiest county. Home to vast horse farms and country music stars' getaways, bucolic Williamson County...tops The Daily Caller's list of America's 100 most conservative-friendly counties. THE DAILY CALLER Mar 2010

Williamson County, TN ranks 4th on the "Best Places To Get Ahead" list - FORBES.COM Feb 2010

Hometown favorite the HOMER DEVER BAND releases their first CD, Leiper's Fork Standard Time. Hear your favorite classics like Your Cheatin' Heart along with some new Hillbilly and Country music tunes that you'll love. Pick up your CD at any local Leiper's Fork merchant today. Available soon on iTunes and CD Baby. Dec 2009

Those in the know call Franklin, Tenn., just outside Nashville, the "Malibu of Tennessee." A small city with a lot of spending power - thanks to locals with names like Keith, Nicole and Wynonna - Franklin recently got a boost with the arrival of Will Wood's men's wear shop F.M. Allen. - article, "Gentry Points", The New York Times Travel Winter 2009

The American Planning Association (APA) announced today that the Downtown Franklin Historic District has been designated one of 10 Great Neighborhoods for 2009 by APA's Great Places in America program. Franklin is the first city in Tennessee to be selected for a Great Places in America designation. - Williamson Herald Oct 2009 

"Paramore are the biggest rock stars in Franklin, a hamlet of Nashville...Just a group of Franklin kids that made it good. MTV will feature Paramore in Franklin over the coming days, leading up to their new album debut on Sept 29th." - article, Paramore Welcome MTV To Their Hometown, MTV NEWS Sep 2009

Franklin, Tennessee Named One of America's "Dozen Distinctive Destinations" for 2009 - National Trust for Historic Preservation Jan 2009

Franklin Makes Top Ten List for "Best Small Town" - Southern Living Readers' Choice Awards Jan 2009

"A good bottle of wine," says Kix Brooks meditatively, "is really about friendship, about sharing, spending time with people. It's no surprise, then, that that's the atmosphere Arrington Vineyards (part-owned by Brooks) is trying to promote, and it seems to be working." If you haven't made the trip to the beautiful little winery, with its Rhineland-style A-frame chalet and tasting room set amid the rolling hills of Williamson County, it's a joy to discover. - The Tennessean, Arrington Vineyards is Turning Middle Tennessee into Wine Country

"Scores of antiques shops, art galleries, cafes and a bookstore beckon visitors to spend, or to simply browse and linger." - 1,000 Places in the US and Canada to See Before You Die

"There's so much history around here, you could go on forever." - Arkansas Democrat Gazette Dec 2006

"At peace with the past, Franklin, Tennessee, at the center of one of the Civil War's bloodiest battles, today is a sweet, attractive city." - Atlanta Journal Constitution Jul 2006

"Franklin offers sprawling countryside, historic plantation homes, and the appeal of a thriving Main Street. A National Register Historic District, Franklin's downtown strip begs visitors to pick a spot and start exploring." - Northwest Airlines WorldTraveler Magazine

"New York? L.A.? No way! Country stars can just as easily stay home to get their goods... Shopping - Serenite Maison and The Iron Gate; Restaurants - Puckett's and Dotson's." - People Magazine, The Stars' Guide to Nashville Nov 2006

"Outsiders often call this town ‘The Real Mayberry.' It reminds us more of the fictional town in the magical movie Big Fish. It's so strangely perfect and perfectly strange, we expected that when we went back to find it; we'd discover it was just a dream." - Southern Living, We Love This Small Town Jul 2006

"Franklin, Tennessee, a cushy suburb of Nashville, is a beautiful blend of upscale urban development and rich, cultural history dating back to the close of the 18th century. The result is an area rife with hip places to shop and eat as well as many days worth of historic sight-seeing. Throw in the occasional celebrity sighting (Williamson County and Franklin, in particular, have lots of famous residents) and Franklin becomes a destination all its own." - Sterling Southeast Magazine Fall 2006

Top Ten Hot Destinations for 2007 lists Franklin, Tennessee as one of the top ten great places to visit in the United States. - TripAdvisor.com, TravelCast Nov 2006

"Past a couple of centuries-old buildings, she leads you to her little shop, Serenite Maison...It's just the sweetest little store." - Vogue Magazine, Faith Hill Interview Feb 2006 

"The beauty of the place softens what happened here at the end of the Civil War. What your eye doesn't tell you looking out at the graves so neatly laid out is why they are here. Almost 1,500 Confederate dead in the family cemetery of a grand old Tennessee plantation home called Carnton." - CBS Sunday Morning, A Novel Way to Save a Battlefield Oct 2005

"Why, 140 years after the Civil War's end, does it continue to stir so many hearts and rouse so many new struggles?" - National Geographic Magazine, Civil War Battlefields: Saving the Landscapes of America's Deadliest War Apr 2005

"Robert Hicks, a music publisher and antiques collector helped restore Carnton Plantation...to its 1864 state then made it a star of his romantic first novel, Widow of the South." - New York Times, The House That Turned Into a Potboiler Sep 2005