Photo by Skye Marthaler
The William S. Campbell House / Magnolia Hall was built about 1840 at 600 Boyd Mill Ave. off Hwy 96 in Franklin.
Its style is Italianate architecture. William Campbell (1814-1878) and his wife/cousin Margaret M. Campbell Campbell (1832-1912) constructed the mansion. Campbell emigrated from Ireland in 1837 and traveled to Franklin. He opened First National Bank in the Franklin area after the Civil War.
About two decades after Campbell died, in 1899, William Henry Glass (1847-1916) and Mary Dedman Glass (1852-1924) of Walnut Hill bought the plantation and moved to Magnolia Hall. Glass was a well-known Planter and knew the Campbells through service on the Board of the First National Bank of Franklin (originally Planter’s Bank). Glass’ father had also been on the banks’ board. About the same time, the Glass family also purchased a large tract from the Winder McGavock plantation because of Carnton financial troubles. It became Walnut Grove Farm.
By 1971, Mark Ray and Ruth Anne Garrett owned Magnolia Hall and its 12 acres. That year, the Garretts hosted the first Heritage Ball at Magnolia Hall to benefit the preservation organization. [In 1973, the second year, the Ball was set up on the grounds of Carnton because it was in great disrepair and in danger of being demolished.]
In 1976, Julia Ann White and Gordon Everett Inman purchased Magnolia Hall. Ann is a realtor. Gordon began business owning a gas station and later became involved in multiple business ventures including real estate and banking. Gordon separated from Ann and left the home. In divorce proceedings, Ann received sole ownership of the property in 1991. On the market since 2018, the property has been used in numerous photo and movie shots as well as magazine stories. In the Fall of 2020, Inman and developers proposed a high-end residential development on most of the remaining 15 acres of the property. The Glass family is remembered by the adjacent Glass Lane. NRHP 1975 See Walnut Hill
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