The Bell Town Neighborhood of Franklin, Tennessee

Have you ever heard of the Bell Town neighborhood of Franklin?  If so, it means you are probably one of the area's older residents.  The Bell Town neighborhood has all but disappeared, but at one time it was a thriving African American neighborhood with ties to a Presidential candidate.

Hon. John Bell, Tenn,

National Archives

During the important 1860 Presidential Election (in which President Abraham Lincoln was elected) one of the four Presidential Candidates was John Bell. 

Bell was an attorney who first began his practice of law in Franklin following his admission to the bar in 1816. 

In 1817, Bell got his start in politics when he was elected to the Tennessee Senate from Franklin. Two years later, in 1819, Bell expanded his professional interests into real estate. He subdivided the land south of Five Points between Columbia Avenue and Evans Street, as far as Fowlkes Street, and called it "Bell Town."

Following the Civil War, the Bell Town Neighborhood became a thriving African American neighborhood. ANC Williams pastored a church there, and black doctors and other community leaders lived in the area. 

Bell Town housed several black-owned businesses including a grocery store and hotel, churches, and a Lodge of black Freemasons. A historic marker in the Cummins Street Church of Christ parking lot stands as a testament to the neighborhood and church founder A.N.C Williams. 

• You can learn more about Bell Town by reading the interpretive markers on the back of the Auto Zone (933 Columbia Ave) that was built on land in what was the center of the neighborhood. (Your Williamson article.) The panels outline the fascinating histories of several of Franklin’s most prominent African American residents including John Watt Reddick, a former railroad clerk and leader of the local Mosaic Templars of America chapter.
• Driving Tour.  Bell Town is just one of the historically African American neighborhoods that used to exist - and in some cases still do exist - in Franklin.  Learn more about them in these driving tours.

Dr. J. W. Hudson was a resident of Bell Town. His brother-in-law, Russell Otey, is his passenger.
Photo courtesy: Williamson County Historical Society

Video Resources for Learning about Tennessee and Williamson County's African American History

During this uncertain time with everyone #SocialDistancing and staying inside, I thought it might be helpful to assemble some videos about Tennessee and Williamson County's rich African American history.  Some of you may be parents with children at home, or might be adults looking for a distraction from the alarming news of the day.

I hope you find these videos to be interesting, and perhaps in some ways inspiring.  Humans have endured difficult times before, and will again.

African Americans and the [Civil] War: Looking Over Jordan


Wessington Plantation: A Family's Road to Freedom


First Black Statesmen: Tennessee's Self-Made Men


Soldier & Citizen | The Citizenship Project | NPT

A Time of Joining


Voices Lifted
 

By One Vote: Woman Suffrage in the South


Williamson County - Hardscuffle Community in Brentwood


Williamson County - Carolyn Bright Worthy tribute to her mother Minerva Owen Bright


Franklin's Black History Moment: A.N.C. Williams

Franklin's Black History Moment: The Green House

Franklin's Black History Moment: Schools and Education

Franklin Black History Moment: Downtown African-American Churches

Franklin's Black History Moment: Harvey McLemore / The McLemore House

McLemore House Museum in Franklin TN

Memories of Nashville: Civil Rights
 

Living Legacies in Williamson County: Mary Mills

Williamson Co. Educator Eugene Wade