COMMUNITY | Days Gone By
TWO CENTURIES OF LIFE, DEATH & LEGACY FRANKLIN’S CREEKSIDE For almost two centuries, Creekside has stood like a sentinel on Franklin Road, witnessing the ebb and flow of life, from the early days of Williamson County’s settlement to the tumultuous years of the Civil War and beyond. The history books are relatively quiet about this house, which might lead one to think Creekside was merely a peripheral observer of the area’s important events. However, a journey through its property deeds will reveal one notable name after another, each owner leaving an indelible mark on not only the house’s legacy, but the town itself. Join us as we peel back the layers of Creekside’s past and discover its significance in Franklin’s historic landscape. Though there have been some muddy waters over the early history of Creekside, records show that Wright Stanley, a county magistrate, was the home’s first owner. After his death in 1833, his second wife, Mary, inherited the home and adjoining farmland. It was later sold to Thomas Shute for a short period. During the Federal occupation of Franklin, the Creekside property likely experienced heavy military traffic. Not only does the home sit along what was a main route to
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Nashville, it also backs up to Roper’s Knob where a Union signal station was located. Furthermore, Federal troops had erected picket lines on the Nashville Pike (now Franklin Road) at Spencer’s Creek, which flows near Creekside. On June 8, 1863, two Confederate spies were intercepted just outside of town, and many believe their capture happened at these picket lines. If that’s the case, they were apprehended very close to Creekside. The men were hanged from a tree the following morning. Shortly after the war in 1866, Thomas Shute sold the property to John Campbell, a silversmith who lived in a nearby plantation home named “Glen Echo.” Later that year, Campbell’s brother-in-law John B. McEwen acquired Creekside and the farm. McEwen was Franklin’s mayor during the Civil War and one of the town’s most prominent citizens. He lived in a fine home that still stands on Fair Street. Though he kept Creekside in his name, he gave the house to his daughter Sarah “Sallie” Florence and her husband, Reverend William L. Rosser, as a wedding gift. Sadly, Sallie died in 1867 within weeks of giving birth to her daughter, Sarah “Florence.” Rev. Rosser and McEwen continued to run the farm together, but by 1870, Rosser was living in Marshall County
BY KATIE SHANDS
with three-year-old Florence and his second wife, Ruth. Almost two months after Sallie’s death, a boy named James E. Caldwell moved with his mother and siblings from Memphis to the Creekside property. The Caldwell family helped maintain the farm and household. James later wrote about the experience in his memoir. He recalled one event in particular during a bitter winter when he was tasked with retrieving firewood from Roper’s Knob behind the house. On the return trip, his cart broke, and the firewood went tumbling down the icy hill. After a moment of desperation, he fetched a new cart, collected the wood, and never let the woodpile get that low again. He later referred to the incident behind Creekside as “the great event in my life” when he resolved to never allow “such want” to get that close to him again. Caldwell would go on to become one of the richest men in Tennessee and served as president of the Cumberland Telephone & Telegraph Company (now part of AT&T). In January 1876, The Review and Journal reported John McEwen had established a dairy farm on the Creekside property and hired a Canadian dairyman to manage the
