Franklin’s Fuller Story markers invite a more complete walk around the square

Image: Archival photograph of the historic Williamson County Courthouse; Commons dates it January 16, 2010. It predates the Fuller Story markers and USCT statue and does not show those additions.

A familiar square can tell a different story when you stop to read what has been added to it. Franklin’s Fuller Story initiative brings the African American experience before, during and after the Civil War into the interpretation of the downtown square, alongside its long-established Confederate monument.

The city records the unveiling of Fuller Story markers in October 2019 and the placement of a United States Colored Troops soldier statue in October 2021. The interpretation addresses slavery, Black military service, Reconstruction and racial violence. These are subjects to read in their own right, rather than treating the square only as a setting for photographs.

Give each stop enough time for the language to register. If visiting with children, invite questions and acknowledge when you need to learn more together. Look at whose experience a marker describes and how its location changes what a visitor might otherwise assume about the place.

Use the city’s account as a starting point for further reading and follow current pedestrian access around the courthouse and square. The archival courthouse photograph accompanying this article intentionally predates the initiative: it is a credited historical view, not a picture of the present markers or statue. Seeing the additions in context is the reason to make a thoughtful visit.

Sources and visit details

• City of Franklin: Fuller Story initiative, historical subjects and installation dates

Photo: Ichabod / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized and converted to WebP; the site wordmark may be added in display.