Franklin Golf Course Drops 'Forrest' From Name

FRANKLIN, TN — Forrest Crossing Golf Course in Franklin is now just The Crossing, after the Los Angeles-based owner of the course decided to drop the name of controversial Confederate cavalry Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.

“American Golf had been considering a name change for some time. We believe that the game of golf is a sport that can help bring people together despite their differences, and want everyone to feel welcome to play our beautiful course,” American Golf said in a statement. The change was made official Sept. 22., the company said.

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Forrest was a slave trader, an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan and a Confederate general whose troops are blamed for the mass slaughter of surrendering black Union soldiers at Fort Pillow. The course is, in fact, located relatively close to where Forrest's cavalrymen crossed the Harpeth early in the Second Battle of Franklin in 1864.

The Crossing is a public golf course and opened in 1986. It is the only course owned by American Golf in Tennessee.

Image via Google Maps