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This is the Franklin Presbyterian Church. I want to tell you the story of this church. The church dates back to before the Civil War. It is designated as a National Historic Site. It was organized in 1833 by settlers from Scottland.The place or places of worship for those earliest years is unknown, but their first building, now known as "The Chapel", was erected in 1854- just seven years before the Civil War. The twelve inch walls of the Chapel are made of Native red-clay brick.The window panes are of "hand blown" glass, since no machine-made glass existed at that time of construction. There are imperfections and distortions in the windows that are typical of such glass.The orignal steeple was quite large and octagonal in design. However, it was destroyed by lightning and, after a number of years, a smaller steeple was constructed on the Chapel.The bell in the steeple is thought to have entered this country at the port of Charlston, South Carolina and was hauled into Franklin by oxcart.When the original steeple was destroyed, the old bell was salvaged and safely stored by long-time member John Bulgin.Upon completion of the new steeple, the bell was reinstalled. It is still rung to "make a joyful noise" every Sunday morning. |
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