Franklin-Coffee Co. Line

Tullahoma, where this sign stands, began as a railroad town. Officials of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad laid it out in the 1850s as the midpoint of their line, with shops and a spur toward Manchester and McMinnville. After both armies wrecked much of the first town, the rebuilt railroad made it Coffee County's largest and richest place, with the Dunn and Campbell store, the Hurricane Springs resort six miles south, a woolen mill and M. R. Campbell's hub, spoke, rim and handle works. Tullahoma became a railroad division headquarters in 1920.

What the plaque says

Franklin-Coffee Co. Line Coffee County: Established 1836; named in honor of Major General John Coffee Soldier, surveyor and close friend of Andrew Jackson. Tennessee troops under his command took a decisive part in the New Orleans Campaign, December 23, 1814 to January 8, 1815. Franklin County: Established 1807; named in honor of Benjamin Franklin Printer, publisher, diplomat, author, philosopher, scientist and statesman. Most notable achievements in statecraft were his representation of the Thirteen Colonies at the Court of France, his part in drafting the Declaration of Independence & his part in concluding the treaty with England which gave the Colonies their independence. He was also member of Constitutional Convention of 1787.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Tims Ford State Park — 9.4 mi
  A lake park on the Elk River below the Cumberland Plateau, made by a 1970 TVA dam on land the Cherokee and Chickasaw ceded by treaty in the early 1800s.
• Jack Daniel Distillery — 11 mi
  The oldest registered distillery in the United States, in a limestone hollow outside Lynchburg, where the tour now names Nathan Nearest Green, an enslaved man, as the first master distiller.
• Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park — 11 mi
  A 2,000-year-old enclosure of piled stone and earth on the bluffs above the forks of the Duck River, built by Native people between about 80 and 550 A.D., with a museum and waterfall trails.
• Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration — 18 mi
  The Shelbyville show grounds where the Tennessee Walking Horse has been crowned world grand champion each late summer since 1939, and where the practice of soring is part of the story.

More markers nearby

• Isham G. Harris — 1.1 mi
• Camp Forrest — 1.1 mi
• Justice John Catron — 1.5 mi
• Fortress Tullahoma — 1.6 mi