A Lost Landmark

One Man’s Mission to Put Beech’s Tavern Back on the Map

In the days before turndown service and continental breakfasts at the Hilton, weary travelers depended on taverns for food and lodging. In Williamson County, one such establishment was Beech’s Tavern. For almost a century, those passing between Franklin and Nashville - including Andrew Jackson and Aaron Burr - knew exactly where to find Beech’s Tavern. Today, almost no one does.

The building is long gone. Development has made the surrounding landscape almost unrecognizable. Even the road that brought visitors to the tavern’s doorstep has changed dramatically. But scattered across deeds, maps, newspaper articles, probate records, and the ground itself, are clues to this once-prominent Williamson County business.

Longtime resident Markus Hartley, has made it his mission to follow that trail. This spring, as another round of construction began on the old Beech farm - this time, an assisted living facility - he set out to locate the site of the old hostelry. That goal has since expanded into a book that not only tells the history of Beech’s Tavern, but the larger story of the land and lives connected to it.

A STORY (ALMOST) LOST TO TIME

Markus lives on a portion of the land once owned by John B. Beech, the tavern’s original proprietor. In the 1800s, Beech’s 266.75-acre farm was situated just south of Holly Tree Gap. Today, Gateway Village, a mixed-use community, occupies the northern part of his former property. An old stagecoach road - now Franklin Road - ran along the farm’s eastern edge, and somewhere on that stretch stood Beech’s Tavern. 

Markus’s research uncovered the earliest known record of the establishment: Beech’s 1823 ordinary keeper bond, a financial guarantee required of a licensed tavern operator. The tavern was constructed in a manner typical of the period, from hand-hewn timbers cut from nearby forests. According to Williamson County historian Virginia Bowman, the original structure contained ten rooms, but subsequent additions brought the total to twenty-six or twenty-seven. The building also offered several places for guests to relax outdoors, with a

long porch across the front and double porches in the back. 

Beech’s Tavern was conveniently situated halfway between Nashville and Franklin, a trip that took more than a day by horse and buggy. After hours spent rattling along the dirt road, weary travelers welcomed the opportunity to eat, water their horses, and get some rest. Guests also could explore a nearby cave and enjoy the benefits of a mineral spring, which was believed to relieve ailments such as torpid liver, indigestion, and nervous exhaustion.

Civilians weren’t the only ones to make use of the inn’s comforts. In 1864, General Schofield’s men - along with thirty hostages - reportedly stopped there after the Battle of Franklin. Word was sent to the Confederates that if they attacked during the Federals’ retreat to Nashville, the hostages would be shot. 

While the location was a boon for business, the surrounding terrain attracted a criminal element. The hostelry sat near the base of a hill topped by an opening in the trees known as Holly Tree Gap. This site afforded outlaws sweeping views of the stagecoach route in both directions. It’s said notorious highwayman John Murrell took advantage of this lookout point, robbing travelers on the road and targeting guests inside the tavern. 

Beech owned the inn until his death in 1865, but the property remained in the family for decades. Around 1925, the structure was dismantled, except for the northern portion, which was converted into a residence. During the demolition, workers made a curious discovery: a monkey skeleton in the rafters. No one could explain how it got there. 

In 1928, the mineral spring was blasted during a road-widening project. A year later, the farm was subdivided and auctioned off. Three of those tracts, including the one with the residence, landed on the auction block again in 1931. The home burned shortly after being sold.

PUTTING BEECH’S TAVERN BACK ON THE MAP

As time passed and construction chipped away at the land, Beech’s Tavern faded from public memory. And that might have been the end of the story, if not for Markus’s curiosity. “I assumed that meant finding a few old maps, reading some historical accounts, comparing them with the modern landscape, and eventually identifying an approximate location,” he says. “Instead, almost every answer produced another question.”

After months of tireless research and walking the land, Markus believes he has narrowed down the general vicinity of the tavern. His discovery of what appears to be an old foundation supports that theory. “Along the Franklin Road corridor, pieces of limestone and other stone features raised the possibility that portions of the earlier landscape might still survive,” he says. However, it remains uncertain whether the rubble came from the tavern or another building that once stood on the farm.

Markus’s search for the hostelry expanded into a historical investigation of the surrounding land and the families who lived there. “The tavern was no longer an isolated historical building in my mind,” he says. “It belonged to a larger landscape.” In fact, he turned up so much information that he’s now writing a book on the subject.

As the excavators dig into the soil of Beech’s old farm, Markus continues to dig into the history of the land. There’s still plenty of ground to be covered. If you have any information or photos pertaining to Beech’s Tavern, Markus asks that you email him at markushartley@beechstavern.com. 

Let’s put an old Williamson County landmark back on the map.