Built in 1823, Hiram Lodge No. 7 in Franklin wasn’t just the largest building in middle Tennessee during that time, it was also the tallest building west of the Allegheny Mountains!
During the Union occupation of Franklin, Confederate sympathizers climbed to the third floor of the building to make sketches of nearby Fort Granger. Those sketches were smuggled by local women who could get them to Confederate officers outside of town.
For most of the war the lodge was used as barracks for Federal soldiers. After the Battle of Franklin, like most other buildings in town, it became a hospital for wounded rebels.
The lodge is said to be haunted by a mischievous Confederate soldier who like to move things around upstairs inside the building. People who have been in the building after dark have heard phantom footsteps as well as other odd noises coming from various parts of the empty building. On rare occasions, the soldier has even been seen walking around inside the lodge!
If you’d like to learn more about the hauntings in Franklin, please check out our book Southern Ghost Stories: Franklin, Tennessee.
