Wright Building 1911
The corner of College and Depot (now Kentucky) Streets was known as “Hilton’s Corner”. H.I. Hilton operated a curiosity shop and resided in this one and a half story frame building until his death in 1886. Hilton’s death was a statewide and even somewhat of a national story because of his great wealth and attempt to burn his assets in order to keep his wife and sons from inheriting it. In 1886 there was a frame building at this location that was described as a marble works and can be assumed to be Hiltons building. Between 1892 and 1897 the building was destroyed and became a vacant lot.
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The Wright building was built in 1911 by JM and SW Wright as a three story building. J.M. Wright opened "The Country Store" in the building in the mid 1920's.In 1931 it became the home of Hughes and Tiffany Hardware Company which had bought out Franklin Hardware Company a few years previously.
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In October of 1935, Cudahy Packing Company manager Dick Chauvin announced their relocation to the building. By 1935 a portion of the building was occupied by Ray's Furniture Store which operated in Franklin until 1949 when the business was sold to Fords Furniture. In 1945 Massey Furniture moved into the building.
In 1961 the building was heavily damaged by fire. The building was restored but the third floor was removed due the the severity of the damage. In 1962 Franklin Furniture moved into the building. On August 1, 1968, George Crabtree opened Crabtree Furniture in the building.In 2002, Beulah Land Antiques moved into the building.In 2007 the building was occupied by Burgers on Square until 2010.
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Blue Rose Bakery ca 1929
In the 1880's a wood frame building sat on this lot at 128 West Kentucky Street. In the 1890's it became simply a vacant lot and remained so for many years. Between 1913 and 1925 the current buiding was erected and soon became home to the Blue Rose Bakery.
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The Blue Rose Bakery was started in 1919 in the Stringer Building at the corner of Madison and Main. It moved to this location beside the Wright Building in 1929. It was started by Milton and Bessie Harris and assisted by their son Odis Lee Harris. Mr. Harris was known to be a stickler for cleanliness and efficiency and as a result his products were enjoyed by most in Simpson County. In 1950 Erick Lindstrom bought the business and it was renamed Franklin Home Bakery.
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In 1953, a mail carrier named Willard Law retired from the postal service and opened a TV and Radio Service Store. A few years later he added a line of fishing supplies. Mr. Law stayed in this location until 1996 when he retired again. A few years later the building was given a face lift and restored to its original beauty.
Jay Lewis Building ca 1913
This lot contained assorted small frame buildings from 1886 to 1907. By 1913 the Jay Lewis Building was built. Jeremiah Leonard Lewis (Jay) 1877-1948, was a farmer in the Gold City Community. It is not known whether Mr. Lewis actually built the building but it was often referred to as the Jay Lewis Building over the years.
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In 1925 Pierce Brothers Furniture was located here. In 1931, the Cash Store was selling Singer Sewing Machines here. P. V. Hunt Grocery was in this location and moved to the McElwain Meguire Bank Building in 1941.
In 1947, Porter and James Pierce purchased Lundy Furniture Company and renamed it Franklin Furniture. They sold it in 1963 to Vince Taylor and Millard Crafton. In the 1970's Floy Stringer Realty was located in the building. When the PermaStone was added to the exterior is unknown.
W.H. Bryan Building 1908
As early as 1871 there was a two story frame building at this location that eventually became the location of J. H. Dashwood, an undertaker and furniture maker. By 1892 the building was a boarding house and by 1896 there was only and empty lot until the W.H. Bryan building was built in 1908.
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In 1908, W. H. Bryan built the Bryan Building in the center of the north side of the square. In 1909 Mr. Bryan bought the Franklin Favorite for his son, Stanford Walker Bryan, from the widow of CC Pare. The building housed the Post Office, The Franklin Favorite and a barber shop. Mr. and Mrs. Bryan lived in a portion of the building. Sanford Walker Bryan was stricken with neuralgia in suddenly passed away May 13, 1913 only a couple of weeks after the tragic death of one of his closest friends, I.H. Goodnight. Mr. Bryan reportedly never fully recovered from the loss of his only child and sold the building in 1917 to John L. Pond. In 1928 he bought the building back for $14,050.
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In 1938 after the death of Mr. Bryan, the building sold to Dr. B. W. Neely for $14,000. It was noted to contain various office on the second floor. In 1938 the building still housed the Post Office, Franklin-Favorite, and M. G. Law Barber Shop.
In 1941 the Post Office moved into a new building on the north east corner of Main and Washington Streets. The location was formerly the home of Dr. Vanlandingham. The old Post Office portion of the building was home to The Modern Appliance Store from about 1946-1949, managed by Notley Smith. Upstairs became the office of Dr. L. F. Beasley, who had moved to Franklin in 1931 and set up practice in the Southern Kentucky Sanitorium. Later that year Dr. Beasley moved his practice to the north east corner of Madison and College Streets. In 1950 D. O. Pierce moved Pierce Jewelers to the location from Main Street.
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In 1950, the Franklin-Favorite moved their offices and press room to a new building on High Street. The barber shop portion was originally leased to Bud James and Tom Martin. In 1920 M. G. Law moved from Lafayette, Tn. and leased the shop. In 1943 Jimmie Lewis purchased half interest in the M. G. Law Barber Shop. Later in 1943, W. C. Bogle gave notice that he had dissolved his partnership with The City Market and moved his stock of groceries to the building formerly occupied by Law Barber Shop. In 1955, Harding Grocery on East Cedar Street combined with Jimbo’s Market which had been operating in the building and also added the space next door that had been Yokley Furniture. Harding Grocery operated in the building until 1966 when it became Cline Grocery.
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Simpson County Grocery ca 1908
On this location in 1886 there is a two story building that is an office in the front and a print shop in the back. In 1892 it is a furniture and undertaking business in the front with a one story stone addition on the back that is the home of a cabinet shop. By 1897 there is simply a vacant lot at this location.
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The current building first appears in 1908 as a meat market and eventually is shown as a meat and grocery store.
Simpson County Grocery was run by Joe Haner starting in 1906. The business was then operated by Bryant and Towe. G.R. Anthony began operating the business in 1914.
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Daniel F. Gann ran a shoe repair business by 1912 and was located on the east side in the Roark and Garrett Clothing Store in the Herrington building. By 1920 if not before, he was located here at least until 1950. In 1950 the building which housed Gann Shoe Shop was sold to Ed Dunn for $6900.
Dunn Brothers ca 1886
On the Bird's Eye View picture from 1871 a building is seen at about this location but there is not any way to be for sure that it is the current building. This building was the Post Office 1886 and 1892 but by 1897 it is a clothing store. This building, along with its neighbors to the east, the Holland Building and the Masonic Building were the only buildings on the north side of the square in 1897.
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The grocery firm of James McClean and James Greer located here in 1901. About 1907 McClean and Greer moved to the Greer Building on the east side of the square. The building was occupied by William Hatchers Restaurant and Grocery and the Railroad Express Office. In 1926, William M. Hatcher sold his grocery business to Mr. H. K. Clendinning in order to dedicate more of his time to being the agent of the Railroad Express. Mr. Hatcher retired from the Railroad Express in 1938.
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In 1946 William and Ronald Dunn opened Simpson County Radio Sales and Service in the adjacent building on the west side. In n 1954 they moved into this building which had been named Dunn Brothers. They sold radios and televisions from this location until 1994. . William Henry "Bill" Dunn died in 1996, Ronald Reed Dunn died in 2011.
Foster Building pre 1886
Next to the Masonic Building on Kentucky (Depot) Street is what was known as the Foster Building. It was possibly named for John H. Foster(1837-1930) who was a real estate investor in Franklin.
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It is one of the older buildings on the square having been built between 1871 and 1886. There are four windows across the second floor of the building but originally the section containing the east most window was not a part of the building. There was a two story wood staircase between the Foster Building and the Masonic Building until around 1913 when it was enclosed and the former stairwell was used as the Railway Express Office.
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In 1886 the building housed a tailor in the front with a store in the rear. It became The Grand Leader, a dry goods store by A.D. Brodsky in 1903, and a grocery store called A.T. Welch Company in 1904. The Silver Moon Restaurant, owned by L.C. Wright, was here from about 1910 until 1918. The Quaker Maid Store opened in 1926 and was a part of the A & P Grocery Chain.
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The Farmers Mutual Telephone Company announced in 1912 that they were in the process of building an up to date phone system for Franklin and had already connected to the Temperance Exchange. In the next few weeks, The Long Distance Telephone Company of Louisville would be building a line to Bowling Green so that they could provide long distance service.
The building eventually became the office of attorney Joe P. Clark and then attorney Robert Taylor
Masonic Building 1860
The Masonic Building is possibly the oldest building on the square. The first mention of the Masonic Building was in stories of plays being performed in the building just after the Civil War.
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In 1886 half the lower floor is a saloon. Later it was occupied by Saunders and Proctor Co. Funeral Home which became Meador and Saunders Funeral Home in 1893 and later bought by V.N. "Pete" Booker. In 1901 a grocery store operated by N. A. Crow was located here and it became commonly known as Crow’s Corner. In 1921 Crow’s Grocery store moved to the east side of the square.
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In 1921 Crow’s Grocery store moved to the east side of the square. In 1927, H. G. Hill Company, a chain of over 600 stores out of Nashville, Tn., opened a grocery store in the Masonic Building. Sanford Thurmond was the manager and Arthur Haner and Virgil Jernigan were his assistants and Joe Haner was a clerk.
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The brick on the building was covered with PermaStone in 1951. Windows were removed from the first floor and rear of the building and a door added on the side. All windows seem to have been replaced in the building as there is evidence of brick work around them. Bill's Auto Associate Store existed from about 1946-1956 and was owned by L.S. Chauvin and H.G. Guthrie.
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Over the years it has housed a variety of businesses in the upper floors. In the early 1900's it was home to Tom Bottomly's photography studio, Shubert and Crow Jewelry, Joe Cippoli Tailor business, Dr. Rogers and Niccol's Chiropractors. Later it served as office for attorney David Martin, optometrist Ken Compton, the Chamber of Commerce, the Simpson County Health Department, The Flower Patch, Smith Supplies, Kelley Parrish and many others.
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