The official website of Franklin on Foot, offering guided ghost and historic tours of downtown Franklin, Tennessee

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Guided walking tours of historic Franklin, Tennessee  

To schedule a tour or for more information:    

Call 615-400-3808 If I don't answer right away, it's probably because I'm on tour and have the phone turned off. (I won't answer the phone during your tour either!) But I will get back with you as soon as possible.

Email themargie@comcast.net

Margie Thessin, FOF

Click for Franklin, Tennessee Forecast

Classic Franklin History Tour     Civil War Tour   

Haunted Franklin Tour   Murder & Mayhem Tour

Ghosts of the Battlefield Tour

New! Private Tours

Grave Matters in the Cemetery

Scout Programs   Children's Tours and Activities

 School and Home-school Programs

Step-on guide service

Can't make it to me? I'll bring the program to you! Call for details.

A town steeped in history with a contemporary vibe...

Just minutes south of Nashville, Franklin is often cited as one of the most beautiful downtowns in the South.  Southern Living Reader's Choice Awards named Franklin #5 Best Small Town in the South for 2009. The National Trust for Historic Preservation honored Franklin as one of a Dozen Distinctive Destinations in 2009 and as one of the top five "most romantic" Main Streets in 2011. Country Living Magazine recently featured Franklin's unique appeal. For years visitors have come for the charm, often unaware of the rich past that lies just beneath the town's quaint Victorian surface. 

More recently, however, visitors have been attracted by Franklin's important and sometimes gruesome history, a  history that is spotlighted in the Civil War novel The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks. The book, a 2005 New York Times  bestseller, centers on Carrie McGavock, the mistress of Carnton Plantation before, during and after the November 30, 1864 Battle of Franklin.

 

 There's just no better way to explore and understand a place...

Our daily Classic Franklin guided walking tour of our historic downtown is the perfect way to peek behind Franklin's charming exterior at the people and events that have shaped this delightful town. 

Franklin on Foot's enthusiastic, knowledgeable guides will make your visit to historic Franklin an unforgettable experience, and, for fans of The Widow of the South, introduce you to more of the town that provided the setting and some of the real people who provided the inspiration for many of the characters in the novel.  

The Widow of the South Tour gives visitors a discount when the downtown Franklin walking tour is taken in conjunction with a tour of Historic Carnton Plantation, Carter House and Lotz House. Admission to all three houses and any one of the daytime Franklin on Foot tours is $40, a savings of $15. Purchase here only!

And you'll hear about the always interesting and often tragic and shocking souls in our Grave Matters in the Cemetery tour.

What they won't mention at the Chamber of Commerce...

Today Franklin is noted for its wholesomeness and gentility, but sordid tales of rape, murder, abortion, prostitution, bootlegging, murder for hire and more lie in the town's not-too-distant past, all explored in detail on our Murder and Mayhem tour. This tour is definitely not for the young 'uns!

In addition, Confederate soldiers, steel magnolias, eccentric doyennes, suicidal businessmen and scandalous women all used to call Franklin home. After dark (and sometimes before, too) all of these long departed Franklinites have been known to make appearances in the buildings in downtown Franklin. Sometimes they don't show themselves, but their presence is felt nonetheless. You'll hear all about them on our family-friendly Haunted Franklin tour. The Lotz House museum opens its door to our guests for our Ghosts of the Battlefield tour.

Tours are by reservation. Please call 615-400-3808 for more information or to make your reservation. To follow us on twitter, friend us on facebook, check our reviews on TripAdvisor, read our blog, view our photos or receive our email blast, click below.
           

  

 

 

   

                                                                        

Active military is always Buy One Get One Free to thank you for your service to our country. (All tours except Value Ticket)

 HomeTours Ghosts | Education | Historic Tour  | About Us |Friends | Comments | FAQs |Dining | Directions  | Media

 

 © Franklin on Foot, L.L.C. 2012

I Spy Downtown Franklin 

I Spy is a fun hands-on and self-guided activity for children ages 5-12--and guess what?  Adults will enjoy it too. Also available: preschool edition for ages 3-5.

Purchase booklet at Landmark Booksellers in downtown Franklin  

Ghosts of Franklin  Tennessee's Most Haunted Town

By Margie Thessin 

Purchase at Landmark Booksellers, Pucketts Restaurant, Carnton Plantation, Lotz House Museum, Gallery 202/Clouston Hall in Franklin and Blockade Runner in Wartrace, or click here. 181 pp., trade paperback.