Tim McGraw + Faith Hill’s Historic Southern Manor Home Being Torn Down by Developers [Pictures]
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's historic Southern manor home just outside of Nashville is reportedly being torn down by developers, just over a year after they bought it with a plan to conserve the property.
Beechwood Hall is a two-story, log-built manor home that was originally built in the 1860s. The grand 3,152-square-foot residence is one of the oldest antebellum properties in Franklin, Tenn., an affluent rural community outside of Nashville that is home to a number of top country stars.
The main house features three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a master suite with a fireplace and an eat-in kitchen. The house boasts a total of six fireplaces and centers around a sweeping staircase that served as the setting for McGraw's "My Little Girl" video, which featured him singing with a string section in front of the stairs:
Beechwood Hall is also where McGraw and Hill filmed their video for "I Need You":
The property is an important part of Civil War history, as it's situated in the area where the Battle of Franklin took place. The entire area is rife with historic sites, but Beechwood Hall is one of the largest and most preserved structures that survived the war. It is entered into the National Register of Historic Places, and it has even further historical significance to country music.
According to LovelyFranklin.com, Hank Williams purchased the historic property in 1951, though he reportedly never lived there full time before his death just two years later. McGraw and Hill later purchased the main residence, several other structures and 750 acres, and they sold 131 acres in 2015. The superstar couple sold the remaining 620 acres in 2021 for $15 million in a deal that included Beechwood Hall, as well as a 12-stall stable, a barn and a storage building, two caretaker homes, a restored log cabin and two guest houses.
They sold the property to BKDM Partners, an investment group composed of real estate broker Dan McEwen, Pinnacle Asset Management founding partner and Managing Director Brock Kidd and Chaz Molder, who is also the mayor of nearby Columbia, Tenn.
"There aren’t many farms like this left in Franklin, and we are thrilled to now own it, and plan to keep an eye towards conservation as we develop our plans for the property," McEwen said in a press release at the time.
Pictures at LovelyFranklin.com show that the home is already in the process of demolition. Photos show the once-proud home in dilapidated condition, and a group of concerned citizens that includes local resident and American Pickers star Mike Wolfe has started a petition to try to save the historic estate before it's too late.
The petition at SaveBeechwood.org shows a set of startling before-and-after photos of the property at the time of its sale, when it looked prime for a restoration project, and more recently, looking like it's in virtually falling-down condition. There's a burn pile outside, where it appears some elements of the structure have already been removed and destroyed.
"The new owners purchased Beechwood Hall and 268 acres on June 30, 2021. As a condition of the agreement, they promised the seller and the community they would preserve and restore Beechwood Hall," the petitioners claim. "Since the new owner's purchase, the house has been slowly dismantled and the front and back doors are being left wide open. Carefully selected 'experts' have been deployed to create a perception that the property is 'too far gone' to be restored. This is an absolutely false narrative and the conditions to support this narrative have been created within the past few months."
The petition seeks to halt the demolition process and force the new owners to either preserve Beechwood Hall properly, or sell the property to another entity who will. It also seeks to address the laws that allow such demolition projects to take place in the case of historical sites.
For more information about the Beechwood Hall petition or to sign the petition, visit the petition's website.
Scroll though the photos below to see Beechwood Hall in photos from when it was listed for sale in recent years.