Daughters of Confederacy claims town square

The United Daughters of the Confederacy wants a court to declare that it owns the Franklin public square and a Confederate monument that sits on it.

The Tennessean reported the ownership dispute began in September when a group of faith leaders and historians proposed adding historical markers on the square explaining Franklin’s involvement with slavery, the riot of 1867 and Jim Crow.

The United Daughters of the Confederacy threatened to sue the city if anything new were erected on the square.

Although the group cannot produce a deed showing ownership, they have filed letters and affidavits with the court saying group members purchased the property around the turn of the last century.