The first time I ever saw the town of Franklin, the mail stage had stopped at the Boisseau Hotel to give the passengers the opportunity for dinner. This was the only hotel in the village. The L & N Railroad had not even been dreamed of and wagons were used to transport tobacco to Louisville or Nashville and upon the return trip dry goods and groceries made up the cargo. In those days, brown domestic sold for 6 cents a yard, bleached domestic for 8 cents, calico for 4 cents, gingham for 10 cents, men’s shoes for $1.50, boots for $5.00, wool hats for $1.00, fur hats for $3.00 and coon skin caps for $2.50. Sugar was hauled in hogs’ heads of sixty-three gallons, just as it came from the plantations of Louisiana and was a dark brown in color. A loaf weighing five pounds was the only white sugar we could buy, and this retailed at 10 cents per pound while brown sugar only cost 3 cents. A large amount of maple sugar was made in Allen County and sold for 15 cents. Pure corn whiskey was sold at 10 cents a quart and was made at nearly every spring in Allen County. There was no tax on the beverage.
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Capt. Alexander was in business on the north side of the square and his place was well stocked with whiskey and brandy. He sold only by the quart and charged 10 cents, provided the purchaser furnished the bottle. Tully Murphy owned a bar room on the east side of the square which was nicely flitted with stain glass windows and where liquor retailed at 5 cents for straight or 10 cents for mixed drinks. At the Boisseau Hotel, a bar was kept where drinks were furnished to guests only and no charge was made.
In 1858 the stagecoach was dropped from road and the railway took its place. John Butlinger ran the first car from Franklin to Nashville. This was a stock car and filled with excursionists.
Shortly after the completion of the railroad through Franklin, the fine residence of R. D. Salmon was erected on the east side. The entire front was ornamented with beautiful flowers and nothing to between Louisville and Nashville compared to Salmons home and ground. I am told that it is now occupied as a residence by E. S. Robey, one of Kentucky’s largest tobacco dealers.
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Tom Hampton and associates erected a large flouring mill above the Scottsville ford on Drakes Creek and soon another was added by Hoy lower down the creek. About this time Franklin commenced to improve and Peden erected a woolen mill for the manufacture of rolls and cloth. He also spun thread and made woolen blankets. Clem Montague operated a harness and saddle shop on the south side.
McGoodwin and son carried a mixed stock of merchandise including on the northeast corner and soon thereafter John Smith opened a real drug store. Dr. Crowdus and Dr. McCreary were the village physicians.
The need of a publicity organ was pronounced and Brevard and Munger launched The Simpson County Progress. For its day, the Progress was a good newspaper but like everything earthly, it was born to die and did not long survive. Munger was a practical newspaper man and soon sought a more remunerative field. I still hold a photo of himself, given me more than sixty years ago. John Brevard was a schoolteacher and a good one. He reared an elegant family and retained his residence at Franklin until his death many years ago. Years later I met one of his sons in Fort Worth, Texas. The office force consisted of your humble servant, who was the compositor, the lamented I. H. Goodnight who was the general roustabout, and Congressman Herbert J. Drane who was known as the "devil." The last issue of the Progress was printed in a room furnished gratis by the lamented Charley Potter in the upstairs over his hardware store on the north east corner of the square.
At this time, the Ford Brothers were laying brick and plastering, John Bottomley was making saddles, Sam Hope was in the tin ware trade, and W. R. Jackson was a jeweler. I recall buying from him the first ring I ever wore.
Such progress, of course, could not go forward without at least a temporary check, so it came when T. J. Blakie's tanning yard in the western part of the village took on and gave off a smell not of the newest. A loud protest was raised and a few of the neighbors moved to other parts, but as I recall, the tanner held his ground and made considerable money out of his business.
On the northeast corner of the square the "Old Curiosity Shop" was owned and operated by William Hilton. His efforts to destroy an immense fortune prior to his death is a story long known to the people of Kentucky and of this I shall not speak further other than to say that he possessed an insight into big business that has never been excelled by the captains of finance and was nothing short of a financial wizard.
Across on the opposite corner of the square was the carpenter shop of Shelby Harwell with whom I worked one day leaning the cabinet trade. Near the middle of the block was the shop of John Woodrow, who in addition to doing cabinet work was also an undertaker. Soon thereafter Rev. Dashwood, an Englishman, opened an undertaking establishment, as did also Mr. Booker.
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About this time The Franklin Female College was established and eventually grew into a great school for the education of young women. Miss Mayme Wright was a student in the art department and greatly loved by all pupils. She is now wife of Congressman Herbert J. Drane and resides at Lakeland, Fla. I referred to Mr. Drane in connection with the office for of The Progress but it will not be out of order to say just here that he has progressed wonderfully since his “devil” days in a Franklin print shop. He helped construct the Atlantic Coastline Railway from Norfolk, Va. to Lakeland, Fla. and with the completion of the road, he laid out the city of Lakeland and has lived to see his dream realized for Lakeland is in every essential, a progressive, thriving and growing city. No man in Florida stands higher than Congressman Drane and in his races for Congress he has had practically the unanimous support of the voters of his entire district.
Rev. R. Y. Thomas, Sr., a member of the Louisville conference was on the Franklin circuit when the War of '61 was declared. He enlisted and was made chaplain of the 17th. Ky. Cavalry and served until the close of the war. No man in the regiment stood higher. The present Congressman from the Third district is his son.
George B. Knapp moved to town from Hickory Flat where he had been a bookkeeper for Mr. Hatfield. I read of his death only a few years ago and with his business career after taking up his residence in Franklin all are perfectly familiar.
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Along in the 50's Franklin got to be quite a trading point tor all kinds of stock, especially mules, horses, and cattle. A good fence had been erected around the square and hitch racks were to be found on tour sides. Mules and horses were brought in for sale and fastened to the racks. County Court day was a great event and mule buyers came to town from a great distance. Frequently the animals were sold at auction and often a good 4-year-old mule would bring $250. If the auctioneer was what was then classed a “good talker”, he usually made the price.
Negroes were often sold to the highest bidder in Kentucky in those days and I recall one sale where “Uncle Tommy Horn”, of Allen County, offered a boy, who was sold on a look in Franklin to William Offutt of Logan County for $20 per pound. The sale price was $2,800. So far as I know, or have reason for believing, this was the only slave ever auctioned in Franklin upon the pound basis. "Uncle Tommy” disposed of his holdings in Allen County and moved to Warren and later the proclamation of Lincoln freed his slaves. He came then to Franklin where he bought a small place and some years later was struck by a passenger train and killed. He amassed a large fortune for that day but lost everything before the tragic event which caused his death.
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I distinctly recall hearing him recite the story of his early struggles in Allen County, where he married Sarah Carpenter and went to live in a one-room hut in the woods. Their dining table consisted of a stump in the middle around which the shack was constructed and the household and kitchen furniture was made up of one hickory bark bed, one iron skillet and a few pewter dishes. There was no chimney to the house, but a fire was built on the outside for cooking and heating purposes. He walked to Bowling Green to purchase his ax and what few nails he required were made by a black smith. This was the life that proved the mettle of the man and few men of the present generation with comforts and luxuries as inheritances, will ever succeed as this brave and hardy pioneer.
Clark Arnold
The Franklin-Favorite
January 15, 1925