This was an awesome experience because of our first-rate tour guide Adam. That dude knew so much and talked fast enough to share most of it with us. This wasn't just a job for him, he was very passionate and demonstrative keeping our attention every minute. A must visit. read more

The Carter House - Museums Near Me - Franklin, Tennessee

We did the hour house tour today with tour guide Jim. Jim brought history to life with his amazing ability to capture the detail of the events. He is a year retired high school history teacher. I sure wish he would of been my teacher back when I was In school, I would of paid more attention and not fell asleep. Haha... So if you do the tour, request Jim. Be sure to ask him about the lazy S river!! Thank you Jim. From Kim, Scott, Rebel and Kat.... from Florida. read more

DVD was a great tour guide! He is a captivating story-teller, and we loved how he brought our attention to small details in the home as a gateway into his stories. We were in Franklin for a weekend vacation, and we didn't plan on finding ourselves on a Civil War battlefield tour, but we enjoyed learning a little about the history of the town we were staying in! read more

The Carter House - Bullet damage to the farm office - Museums Near Me - Franklin, Tennessee

Very informative and detailed stories during the tour. Rusty was an amazing and knowledgeable tour guide for our first time at this historical place of battle from the civil war. It has very intriguing artifacts and furniture that were actually present inside the house during the Battle of Franklin. The grounds were very well kept and manicured. I was very impressed. read more

Unfortunately I can't remember our tour guide's name but I loved her. She was very informative and also adorable. The realities of war are not. I don't care if your family was in the United States during the Civil War or not. If you're looking to understand the truths of how ugly war is, this is a great place to tour. I held back tears through quite a few parts of the tour because I couldn't imagine the suffering experienced. Maybe I just don't want to imagine. Maybe I'm just blessed not to know. read more

Joseph, our tour guide was awesome. He was the history teacher I wish I had in High School. He was so informative and passionate. I learned a lot this tour. This was my 4th tour of the Carter House. 2 were years ago with my children's school class. One was with my father for Father's Day about 6 years ago. This one was with my husband who is from Franklin and has never had the tour. Joseph was the best. So thankful for his willingness to share a part of history in such an informative way. I hope to hear his tour at Rippavilla soon. read more

This is a good place to tour and learn about the civil war. The Battle of Franklin is well explained as one of the bloodiest conflicts of the Civil War. The home was used as a command post during the Battle of Franklin and a turning point in the Tennessee Campaign of 1864 and helped spell the end for Confederacy. The admission gets you inside the home for a tour lasting about one hour. read more

Very informative! We were the only ones on the battlefield tour so it was like we got our own private tour. Tour guide Trey was great, very knowledgeable and passionate about the battle. read more

This home is directly across the street from the Lotz House museum. It's a great historical site. They show a short video before the tour begins, and on the tour I participated in there was myself and one other couple--it was cool to almost have a private tour! For the most part, once you get on the porch which is 5-7 steps from the ground, tour is all on one level with the exception of the visit to the cellar. I don't recall a ramp, but the group after us included a woman who used a scooter and/or walker, so it may be possible for those who may have accessibility concerns. Our tour guide was quite welcoming, and older gentleman who is a volunteer at the museum. He was very knowledgeable and clearly takes pride in the history of the area and the home. I did lose track of the conversation a couple times because he did share quite a bit of info at times, both about the house and the war in general, but the tour lasted only about an hour. The outbuildings--kitchen, smoke house and slave quarters--do not require a ticket. One slight disappointment was that the upstairs was not part of the tour, but that's okay. What I thought was the coolest part was something that I think was called as sugar chest, which as the name suggests held sugar. This was once a precious commodity, and therefore this piece of furniture held sugar under lock and key. The party responsible for the sugar would provide access when requested. Those who used sugar from the chest were required to log their name and the amount taken in the ledger that was kept in the small drawer at the bottom of the chest. I had never heard of this piece of furniture before and I don't know if I realized that sugar was so carefully guarded. The chests are beautiful pieces of furniture and I can't help but want one myself! Carter house is part of the Battle of Franklin tour ticket, which includes both Lotz House and Carnton Plantation as the other two sites. As of July 3, 2014, the Battle of Franklin ticket cost $30, which is a $10 savings from purchasing each ticket individually (I think Lotz House costs $10 and the other two are $15 individually). If you're interested in history, especially civil war or American history, I think it's easily worth the cost of the three tour ticket. As a added bonus, I do not believe there is an expiration date on the ticket, which means you can visit the sites on different days. read more

Very informative and interesting, and extremely sad. Our tour guide really knew his stuff. I'd recommend this to anyone visiting Franklin. read more

The Carter House - Outbuilding with hundreds of bullet holes from the Battle at Franklin. - Museums Near Me - Franklin, Tennessee

My mother-in-law came to visit us, and we wanted to take her somewhere historical that wasn't too "touristy". The Carter House definitely fits the bill. We were the only people who paid for the 4:00 tour, so we pretty much got a personal tour! It was great. The thing that I appreciated most about this place is that they actually let you walk into the rooms, unlike the Hermitage where you have to peer through plexiglass nailed to the door frames. On the downside, you are not allowed to view the second floor. It's always a bummer to me when I pay to view a historical site, and I can't see all of it. The tour was incredibly informative. In fact, it was almost a little mentally overwhelming, but I prefer that over not enough information. I'm ashamed to admit I had never even heard of the Battle of Franklin, and now I know so much about it. My favorite part of the house is seeing where the bullets hit it and the basement. They never repaired the bullet holes, and it gives it character and history. The basement is partitioned into 3 separate areas. The far room is where the family locked their selves in during the battle. The middle room is where they would hang meats and store food, and the front room is where they dined. That was neat to me because although I know it was common in that era for the kitchen to be in a separate building behind the house, I have never seen a home with the dining area in the basement. I would definitely recommend this to anyone visiting the Nashville area and to locals who have never stopped by. We plan to take other guests here in the future. I learned so much, and I feel that I could still absorb more on a future trip. The only reason I took away 1 star is because you can't see the 2nd floor and you are not allowed to take pictures of the inside, even without flash. (Bummer.) read more

See all

Fantastic museum and historical land near Nashville. Highly recommend this great place to visit. The tour guide are very well educated and provide a personable experience. The grounds are well kept. read more

The Carter House is a must see Civil War battleground. Kristi Farrow was our guide and brought humanity into the battle. Fabulous tour!!!

In my option, the history that they provide about the Civil War Battle of Franklin is great. Men and boys fighting barefoot in the snow. You can see actual bullet holes in the walls. A must see. read more

mr. van dyke/dike (unsure of name spelling) was our tour guide for the carter house. he was passionate about the history, gave an excellent tour. i could listen to him speak all day. i highly recommend he writes a book or begins a podcast. if you can get into his tour, you must! the grounds are small, but a nice little visit into a piece of history. well worth it and i hope they continue to share a very important story. read more

The Carter House - the front of the carter home. - Museums Near Me - Franklin, Tennessee

It wasn't what was advertised. There is no video of the battlefield. The room looked like it was being used for storage. Not worth paying to look at some bullet holes in a building in my opinion. Just not at all what we expected after visiting many other civil war battlefields. I would skip this one. read more

Great tour! Lots of information! Well worth it. Advanced tickets not necessary. Tours run often

We had our guide, Sheila, who was informative and descriptive of the family history and the events of the day. It brought things to life as we toured the property. We did walk through last year as the tours were done for the day. What a difference to have the guide. I highly recommend the tour. read more

What the war was like for a family. The guide did an outstanding job of describing what the war was like for a family caught in the middle of a conflict. Visiting the basement and seeing the holes in the walls of the buildings brought home the horrors of war. My only criticism is the guide seemed to be trying to placate the politically correct that obviously have become more vocal on some of the tours. History is history and trying to make Southerners villains does not help anyone. read more

We bought the dual tickets that include Carnton Plantation which I recommend. Beginning at the Carter House was helpful especially because our guide--a retired history teacher--brought to life the battle that occurred on the property and the impact to the family. He was riveting. Best guided tour I've ever taken. The Federalist style house has many of the original owners items. I'm new to Civil War historic sites so I wasn't sure how the history would be presented but found the story telling of our guide and the factual presentation was informative, moving and inspirational. Our guide ended with a reminder of what brings us together as a nation and a people. read more

One of the best things about Middle TN is the history. And Franklin is ripe with Civil War history so it only stands to reason that I would take the BF to experience a bit of it at the Carter House. So you pay in the front building and they tell you what time to meet on the Carter House front porch to start your tour. Then you are free to tour the museum while you wait. I found the museum interesting - personal articles of clothing, letters written home from Civil War soldiers, pictures of soldiers that died there including the Carter family member that was fighting on the Confederate side (even though the father was a Union supporter!), muskets, coffins, etc. Really fascinating! Then you can walk the grounds and see the smokehouse, the office with all the bullet holes in the back of it, and the kitchen building. I thought it was cute how they had Carter house cats too - the one had extra paws that made him look like he had opposable thumbs. Maybe he could open the door at my house like my cat always tries to do! You meet your tour guide and he starts telling you the story. The one we had definitely had a flair for drama and told everything like a story starting with lead up describing the Carter family and how the armies came to be there in Franklin. Very interesting. You get to go in the master bedroom and also the parlor area that was specially decorated for entertaining guests. Check out the molding around the bottom of the room that was painted to look like marble! Check out the rocking chair with a bullet hole through it! And then they take you out on the grounds to show you where the battle was taking place. Then you go back in to see the basement where the Carter family hid while the battle waged on around them. You also go in another bedroom too where the middle Carter son died a day after the battle from his wounds. The entire tour takes about an hour and the guides are all knowledgeable. As I said, our tour guide had a flair for the dramatic and I liked it all up until the end when it sounded like I had transformed from a tour of the house to church where they were about to beg for $$. He didn't and it wasn't like that, but I had that same weird uncomfortable feeling. Maybe I was just hungover and things struck me as weird. But he was still kickass in all other ways. Speaking of hungover, the musty smell in some of the rooms kind of stifled me and made me feel sick to my stomach so if you have a sensitive stomach or drink too much just be aware. Also, we didn't get to go anywhere upstairs. I thought that you used to be able to go up there on the tour? I might be mistaken, but when I came as a kid for field trips I thought we did. Definitely go to the Carter house if you are in town and want to learn a bit more about the Battle of Franklin, the Civil War, and history in general. read more

The civil war Battle of Franklin took place just South of Nashville, and the best place to learn about it is the Carter House. Despite a shabby late 20th century visitor center, the house itself is worth seeing. The Carter House's inauspicious visitor center, currently housed in a nondescript blue building, led me to wonder whether this historic home and battlefield was worth the $10 for admission. My fears were not assuaged by the visitor center museum -- the highlight of which (and I use that term loosley) was an empty cast iron civil war casket, complete with a glass viewing port that once allowed mourners to see the body. (The body has since been re-interred.) I was further discouraged when I saw the attraction's introductory movie on the Civil War battle. The movie is projected onto what appears to be a bed sheet. The perimeter of the makeshift theatre is surrounded by a diorama of barbie doll mannequins posed in mid-combat, complete with red stained uniforms. Despite its poor auditorium, the movie was informative. Costumed armature actors earnestly demonstrated the troop movements that led up to the battle, and reenacted some of the battle's key movements. My traveling companion was distracted by one actor's particularly bad fake mustache, but I give them an A for effort. The real gem of the site is the actual Carter house and outbuildings. Our tour guide Dave took us through the house with an appropriate amount of earnestness and gravitas. As he pointed out bullet and cannon damage that remain apparent on the house, Dave really humanized the events of the battlefield. I went from visualizing blue and red bars on battlefield maps to visualizing the experience of individual soldiers. The inside of the home is also interesting: it served as a field hospital, and still has several original pieces of furniture, some of which still bear bullet holes and blood stains. Here, too, Dave succeeded in conveying some of the real human tragedy that happened in the home. We left the site sombered, educated, and glad that we stopped. The Carter House is well worth the time and effort. read more

Great history...bad tour. The tour should start with the video then the tour guides should fill in the gaps. If you have the option start with the video and then head out to the tour. The tour was way too long and our guide spoke slower than Forrest Gump. I spent most of the tour wanting to help the guide finish her sentences. Don't get me wrong the tour was very informative and the history lesson was cool. I just would have liked the tour to fill in what the history channel leaves out and have a guide that could entertain/educate me. I apologize for not remembering the person's name so you can avoid them but then again the guide I had may still be finishing up the tour I was on. read more

Never thought I'd find myself on a plantation (by choice) but my brother is a big history buff, and since he was graciously accompanying me on my road trip west, I reluctantly obliged, and just prayed there wouldn't be a role playing aspect to the day... It.Was.Awesome. I absolutely loved our tour guide. She was passionate and very well informed. She knew not only the story in great detail of the Battle of Franklin, but I felt like she knew the family intimately. It was such a treat to tour the grounds with someone who could give us real insight into the events leading up to that tragic day. Very happy my brother planned this American Civil War field trip. read more

THis was an amazing tour. The story behind the house and the family was heartwarming. The story put you in the civil war time and made me feel a lot of different feelings. A must do when visiting Franklin. read more

Excellent Civil War Museum with such a personal history of the home and family presented on the tour. While not very big you get a wonderful "visual" of the battle that took place on the property. Make sure to also visit the Lotz House across the street. The Lotz family took shelter in the basement of the Carter House during the battle. Very moving emotionally and makes you sad for that part of history where brother fought brother read more

Really great informational tour! Our tour guide was so good! You could tell she was excited to tell the story of the Battle of Franklin! Her story telling abilities made the tour so exciting! The property has a lot of original buildings and furniture. read more

Our tour guide was awesome! The tour was awesome. I learned so much from this one place. It poured on us but that only made everyone of us on this tour bond. The tour guide had us huddling under the roof of the smoke house. Soon the water started to cover our feet. That was when some of us in flip flops decided to make a run for the porch. We all ran to the porch and were drenched but they let us go inside anyway and continued our tour. I really can't say enough about this place and the people running it. They really know their history and they have a way of making you feel important. I would definetly go back again. read more

See all

This place was absolutely amazing and the guide taught me so much about this oft looked over battle during the Civil War. The history is bloody, scary & powerful and the people affected persevered. The bullet holes and cannonball hole outside of the home are quite evident of what happened so long ago. I'm glad I was able to learn about the Carter family and see what happened to them that fateful night and how it changed their lives. read more

See all

We just did the guided tour of the Carter House, and we were really impressed with the depth of knowledge that our guide, Will, had! It was so worth the price of admission and very educational. Now we want to do the Carnton House your also, but will have to do it when we return to Tennessee. We even brought our 4 and 6 year olds, and they were pretty interested too. So glad we decided to come during our trip here from California! read more

Wow wow wow. The visuals at this house were so cool. It's amazing to see all the structural damage done at the time of the battle. The image just gives you shivers. A must see when you're in Franklin. read more

This place is an amazing piece of history. Our tour guide was awesome and extremely knowledgeable and able to really help us understand what happened here. Definitely recommend stopping by here ! read more

Kristy! Thank you so much for guiding our tour at the Carter House! Your story telling will forever be remembered. Absolutely will recommend this tour to anyone we know coming to Nashville! read more

Good tour and very interesting battle. We took our tenge boys here as they are learning about this in school, great way to connect the events with the place and history. The town of Franklin is charming read more

The tour was good. The tour guide was courteous and very knowledgeable. Nothing like standing on hallowed ground. Little pricey and had to wait about 30 min for the tour to start but was worth it. read more

This is a very well maintained Civil War historical site. Be sure to take the tour of the inside of the Carter House - the guide is excellent and makes you feel what it was like to be in the middle of a major Civil War battle. Paul read more

this was a wonderful and informative tour, full of amazing information and great stories! i normally don't pay for tours, but this was money well spent. our tour guide, russell, was polite, informative, considerate and very entertaining. not only did we learn the history of the battle of franklin, which took place in the yard and surrounding area of the family home, but of the carter family itself. and trust me, both stories are poignant and will give you something to think about as you look out over the yard and imagine what occurred there. if you have an hour, i strongly suggest going and getting your history on. read more

For many interested in the American Civil War, this place is seen as some sort of shrine comparable to the hollowed fields of Gettysburg, Antietam and Shiloh. Unlike those locales however, the Carter House is not owned by the US government and remains hidden in the middle of what is now suburban Franklin, a bedroom community of Nashville. There it resides as a roadside attraction, probably best known as the "House with 1000 Bullet Holes". For its importance, we need to go back to late 1864 the twilight years of the American Civil War. Union General William Sherman had just captured and burned Atlanta to the ground, assuring Lincoln's reelection and beginning his March to the Sea. Instead of confronting this vastly superior force, the Confederates in the West under General John Hood instead struck North in a ludicrous attempt to retake Nashville. The Southern troops managed to trap a small Federal Army under John Schofield in Franklin. Hood launched his army in a suicidal charge against the Federal forces entrenched around the Carter House. What followed was five hours of some of the bloodiest fighting in American history. For a brief moment, the Confederates broke through, only to be stopped by a ferocious counterattack that dissolved into a bloody melee around the house the Carter Family huddling for safety in the basement. That night, the family crawled out from cover to find the house and garden littered with bodies. Among the bodies was Tod Carter, the middle son of the Carter family who fell fighting in the family garden, his first view of home in three years. Though the Federals retreated that night, Hood's victory crippled his army; too many of the South's few remaining soldiers and generals fell in this short fight. Two weeks later his army would be destroyed at Nashville, ending the Civil War in the West. The house remains much as is was on that fateful day, a plebeian brick building pockmarked with bullet holes and cannonballs. After a visit to the museum filled with artifacts recovered from the battle, a docent leads you through the grounds, relating the bloody history that occurred here. The 1-hour tour was done at a brisk pace, and the docent, an old guy who seems to have played guide for a while, put this site in the context of American history. He then showed us several points of interest, the small lawn where forty-seven bodies were recovered, the basement where the Carter family hid during the battle, the poignant bedroom where Tod Carter died. As a history buff, I was enthralled during the entire time. Right outside, you can walk along the streets where the battle took place, now mostly covered by development but interspliced with interesting little tidbits: a small park with a cannonball monument, small cairns where famed southern general fell. All in all, it was quite an interesting location. Most of the battlefield has been lost to development, leaving a small chunk the size of a small city park. The tour is also quite expensive, around $15. However if there is one location to understand the American Civil War in Middle Tennessee, it is at the Carter House. Even those with a passing interest in history and the bloodiest conflict in American history would likely find this to be a place worth visiting. As for the rest of you, well there really isn't much of a reason to come down from Nashville. read more

Alan was an outstanding tour guide. His passion for history made the Carter family's story come alive. We left with a greater appreciation for the families that endured the battles that took place, literally, on their front steps. The staff members at The Carter House do an exemplary job preserving Tennessee's history and I hope they continue their great work! read more

Take a tour in addition to checking out the grounds and small museum. The battle of Franklin is a fascinating story and the tour guides bring it to life. Also very neat to tour a restored civil war-era home. read more