This is a replica of the building which is believed to have served as the capitol of the State of Franklin from 1785 until 1788 and which originally stood near the intersection of Main and Depot Streets. At constitutional conventions held there, competing proposals engendered bitter controversy and resulted in the first political pamphlets produced west of the Appalachians. Chief protagonists were three Presbyterian clergymen, Rev. Samuel Houston, Rev. William Graham, and Rev. Hezekiah Blach. The Franklin Legislature, which also met there, challenged the authority of North Carolina by passing laws to levy taxes, raise a militia, establish courts, authorize the performance of marriages, and open a land office.
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