Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7
National Historic Landmark

Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7

Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee
Listed
November 7, 1973
Type
Building
Period
Early Republic
Ref No.
73001859

About this property

The Masonic Hall of Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7 is a historic Gothic Revival building on South 2nd Avenue in Franklin, Tennessee. Constructed in 1823, it is the oldest public building in Franklin. It is nationally significant as the site of negotiations leading to the Treaty of Franklin, the first Indian removal treaty agreed after passage of the 1830 Indian Removal Act. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1973. It continues to serve the local Masonic lodge. The Hiram Masonic Lodge was the first three-story building constructed west of the Allegheny Mountains. It is located in downtown Franklin, on the east side of 2nd Avenue South, between Main and Church Streets. It is a three-story brick building with Gothic Revival features. The front facade is five bays wide, with a false front extending above the gabled roof to a crenellated parapet with pyramid-topped posts and a central gable. Windows on the facade are narrow lancet-arches, set in two-story round-arch panels in the outer bays, and in a lancet-arched bay in the center. The interior has large meeting spaces on the first two floors and offices and a meeting room styled for the York Rite on the third floor. The building houses Hiram Lodge No. 7, founded in 1809. It was built in 1823, and is the oldest public building in Franklin and the oldest Masonic Hall in continuous use in Tennessee. In 1830, it was the site of negotiations between the Chickasaw Indians and a commission headed by President Andrew Jackson, which resulted in the Treaty of Franklin. This treaty, the first of the Indian removal agreements made in the wake of the 1830 Indian Removal Act, called for the Chickasaw to sell their lands and move west to today's Oklahoma. The treaty was never ratified, and the Chickasaw were later forced into the Treaty of Pontotoc Creek. During the American Civil War, the building was used as a hospital for wounded Union soldiers after the Battle of Franklin. National Register of Historic Places listings in Williamson County, Tennessee

Location

Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee
35.92563, -86.87042

Categories

NATIVE AMERICANPOLITICS/GOVERNMENTSOCIAL HISTORY
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Franklin Historic District
Modern
0.1 mi
St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Additional Documentation)
Civil War
0.2 mi
Hincheyville Historic District (Additional Documentation)
Listed
0.3 mi
Mayberry, Henry H., House
Industrial
0.3 mi
Franklin City Cemetery
Early Republic
0.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7 listed on the National Register?

Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1973.

What type of historic resource is Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7?

Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7 is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7 a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7 has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7?

The period of significance for Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7 is recorded as the early_republic era, specifically around 1823.

Can I research the history near Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7?

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