The Carter House's New Museum Keeps Slipping. November Is Still the Month to Go.

Is the new museum at Carter House open in time for Thanksgiving guests?

It isn't open, and it has no published opening day. The Battle of Franklin Trust's own project page calls the Harper Center & Museum at Carter House a building that is "under construction." Visit Franklin lists the opening as "scheduled to open in the fall of 2026" but gives no date. The new building's date keeps moving. Meanwhile, every date with a ticket attached this season is for a tour of the Trust's existing historic houses, including the 1830 Carter farmhouse on West Fowlkes Street, and the most important of those dates has been on the calendar since 1864.

How the opening date has moved

Officials broke ground on March 28, 2025, according to the Williamson Herald. Since then, the expected opening has shifted from one source to the next.

WKRN reported that Eric Jacobson, the Trust's CEO, hoped for June 1. That was a hope, not a commitment, and June came and went. Shifts like this are normal for a museum building, because the structure is only half the job. The Trust's project page credits the Tennessee Historical Commission and the General Assembly with the building now under construction, but says the cost of the interpretation inside it falls to the Trust, which is raising donations to "properly outfit, build out, and creatively and accurately" complete the exhibits. An empty building can be finished long before the exhibits that fill it.

What the building adds when it does open

The change in scale is the reason this project matters to anyone who has taken guests through Carter House. The Williamson Herald reported that the new 9,600-square-foot building replaces a 2,500-square-foot visitor center, nearly four times the space. It also adds archival and artifact storage. Baron Construction holds the construction contract, which the Herald put at just under $7 million.

The building has two stories. WKRN describes a museum and gift shop on the first floor, with community space and offices on the second. The site already handles real volume. WKRN reported that Carter House welcomes up to 36,000 guests a year.

The money came from the state. The Tennessee Historical Commission credits funding from Gov. Bill Lee and the General Assembly, plus $2 million approved from the Commission's Historic Property Land Acquisition Fund. Published totals differ. The Commission's release calls it an $8.5 million project, while its event listing describes a $6.5 million state capital project. The building is named for Herbert Harper, who led the Tennessee Historical Commission from 1975 to 2006.

The first exhibit is titled "All Men Are Created Equal." Its scope is described two ways. Visit Franklin says it covers American history from 1776 through the start of the Civil War. Williamson Scene says it runs from 1776 to 1876, which would carry it through Reconstruction. The final exhibit will settle which is right.

You can take the exhibit's tour now

You don't have to wait for the building to see the exhibit's theme. The Trust already runs a special "All Men Are Created Equal" guided tour at Carter House for $29, and the proceeds go toward the new exhibit and museum. If you want to see what the Harper Center is being built to say, this is the most direct way in today, and the ticket helps pay for the building's interior.

The standard visit still runs as it always has. From the Trust's Carter House page:

• Classic House Tour. 60 minutes, guided. $22 for adults, $14 for children ages 6 to 15.
• Tour times. Tours leave every 30 to 40 minutes based on walk-in traffic. You get your tour time when you arrive, and the last tour of the day starts at 4 p.m.
• Hours. Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Address. 125 W Fowlkes Street, Franklin.
• Holiday closures. New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas.

That closure list matters for hosts. Guests in town for the holiday weekend can't tour Carter House on Thanksgiving Day itself, and Christmas Eve is out in December too. Plan the visit for the Friday or Saturday instead.

The dates on the calendar that won't move

The Harper Center's date keeps changing. The dates below, all within the next seven weeks, are fixed and have tickets for sale now.

1. October 31. This is the last day to buy the online-only combination ticket: $27 for a 60-minute guided house tour at both Carter House and Carnton. It's good for any day of the week, and you can arrive any time between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and check in at the front desk. The Trust says it is "online only, no exceptions." Two classic adult tours bought separately would cost more than that $27 ticket.
2. November 29 and 30. These are the 162nd anniversaries of the Battles of Spring Hill and Franklin. The Trust runs 60-minute guided night tours at Rippa Villa on November 29, and at Carter House and Carnton on November 30, each at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The anniversary tours are the strongest reason to go this year, opening or not. According to the Trust's commemoration page, the tours "focus on the events of those evenings and the experiences of the soldiers and the families in the very moments when they were happening." Tickets cost $30 per person per tour, each group is capped at 20 people, and tickets must be bought in advance. With four time slots on the 30th across two houses, capacity is limited.

The Trust adds one planning note that is easy to miss:

"Please, do not buy tickets for both Carnton and Carter House as there will not be time to travel between the two sites."

So choose one house for November 30. Children under 6 are not permitted on these tours, given what the Trust calls "the sober nature of this experience." A household with a mix of ages may want to split up, sending older guests to the night tour and saving the daytime classic tour, which takes children 6 and up, for the rest of the group.

None of the Trust's anniversary materials mention a ribbon-cutting or say the night tours will use the new building. As listed, the November 30 tours happen where the events of that night happened, at the Carter family's house and at Carnton.

Where the new building fits once it opens

When the Harper Center does open, it will change more than the tourist route. The Trust says the Franklin Civil War Round Table is set to start meeting at the Harper Center in late 2026. With that group meeting there and community space upstairs, the building is planned as a recurring local meeting place as well as a place to start a tour.

There is also an address detail to keep straight. The state lists the project at 1140 Columbia Ave., and the Trust's current visitor page gives 125 W Fowlkes Street for the existing house tours. Until the Trust posts new check-in instructions, use the Fowlkes Street address the Trust currently lists for tours.

Expect the Harper Center's opening date to keep moving until the Trust announces it. The Carter House dates are fixed. The combination ticket expires October 31, the house closes on Thanksgiving, and the night tours on November 30 start at 7 and 8 p.m.

If you're hosting this season and want help planning a day around Franklin's historic core, from Carter House on Fowlkes Street to Carnton and downtown, The Milam Group is glad to share what we know about the places around it. When you're ready to talk about your own plans in Franklin, Schedule a Personalized Market Consultation and we'll start from there.