History
Fairvue Plantation’s deep history dates back to the early nineteenth century. Key figures in Fairvue’s history were Isaac Franklin and John Armfield who established the firm of Franklin & Armfield, in 1828. The firm grew over the next decade, with Armfield based in Alexandria, Virgina and Isaac Franklin in New Orleans, Louisiana. Their company’s success was based on the booming demand for slaves to work the Plantations in the deep South.
Although, Isaac Franklin kept a house in Louisiana, his thoughts were often in Tennessee. In 1832, at age 43, rich from 20 years as a “long-distance slave trader,” Franklin built a big house on 2,000 acres outside Gallatin. He named his new home Fairvue. Columned, brick, and symmetrical, people said the mansion was just about the finest house in the state, second only to the Hermitage, the estate of President Andrew Jackson.
Fairvue was built on the culture of the old south requiring workers to maintain the home and activities of the Plantation. Records show Franklin kept at least 129 slaves on Fairvue where they lived and contributed to Fairvue’s growth into a prosperous, working plantation.
After Franklin died in 1846, his widow, Adelicia, kept the home until 1882. During the Civil War, the home was occupied by federal troops. Charles Reed, New York race horse man and gambling house operator, bought the house in 1882 from Adelicia, and it became his southern home and the stud farm where champions of the turf were raised. Not only was it used for racehorse breeding, but it became the setting for steeplechases and fox hunting. The estate fell to the financial despair of the Great Depression.
Fairvue Plantation has a storied history, from a cotton plantation to a champion racehorse stud farm, to a private foxhunt park to a premier residential community. Today, Fairvue is a warm, welcoming, and beautiful luxury lakefront community, complete with a country club, golf course and many other amenities.