The Tennessee Female College was opened in 1857 by the Tennessee Methodist Conference, and operated from this imposing structure at Fourth Avenue South and South Margin Street until 1886, when it burned. The second Tennessee Female College, was built in 1887 on the corner of South Margin Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenues, and operated until 1916. 

Dr. Jonathan Bostick, a resident of Triune who died in 1872 at his cotton plantation in Mississippi, bequeathed funds for the Bostick Female Academy. It was his desire to replace the famed Porter Female Academy, burned by Union soldiers in 1863, and to maintain the tradition of fine schools for boys and girls in the Triune district. The money finally arrived in 1891 after a long delay. John S. Claybrooke, the only trustee named in Bostick's will still living, used it to buy eleven acres from the Samuel Perkins estate and had this handsome edifice built. Bostick Female Academy's first session was held in 1893. After Hardeman Academy burned in 1904, this building served as the Triune Public School until 1949. It is now a private residence. 

Battle Ground Academy was founded in 1889 in Franklin, by a group of visionary leaders committed to rebuilding their community through education. Their goal was to establish a non-sectarian school that would provide quality education, foster sound moral character, encourage responsible citizenship, and offer a promising future for students in a town still recovering from the devastation of war.

 

Under the leadership of S.V. Wall and W.D. Mooney, BGA quickly gained a reputation for academic excellence and athletic leadership, becoming one of the foremost preparatory schools in the South. During its early years, BGA was often referred to as the Wall and Mooney School, the Mooney School, or the Peoples School, following the tradition of naming schools after headmasters, but reverted back to being called Battle Ground Academy in 1925.

 

Today, BGA offers a co-educational college preparatory program for students from Pre-K through twelfth grade. The school operates on three campuses, including its Early Learning Center at 101 Legends Club Lane, with a total student population of 955.

 

BGA’s 136-year history of upholding its values of Character, Scholarship, and Excellence has left a lasting mark on Franklin and middle Tennessee, with its graduates having shaped the community’s growth and leadership and ensuring the school’s continued influence for generations.

Built in 1927, Lee-Buckner was the first of four Rosenwald schools in Williamson County and is the last remaining today. It served the African American community in Duplex, replacing the dimly lit and poorly ventilated Rural Hill school, which had operated since 1868. Monroe Lee, a local man, sold the land for the new school, which was funded by the county, private donors, and the Rosenwald Fund. Lee-Buckner’s design prioritized natural light, ventilation, and comfort for its students.

 

Over time, the school expanded, but like many African American schools in the South, it was neglected and fell into disrepair by 1951. It closed in 1965 due to integration, and the building eventually became vacant. In 2018, the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County purchased and saved the school from demolition. Now relocated to Franklin Grove, Lee-Buckner is being restored, standing as a symbol of the power of education for future generations.