Special Collections

Welcome to the Special Collections Department at WCPL!

Here is where you will find resources with a sharp focus on genealogy and local history. Our print resources include Bible records, biographies, cemetery and burial records, city directories, local histories, military records, marriage records, pension applications, tax records, historic court records, school yearbook, periodicals, and much more. Microfilm records include Williamson County newspapers, wills and inventories, WPA records, court records, etc.

The books and manuscripts in our collections require special handling and extra security due to their age, value and rarity. In order to preserve them for future generations, all items remain in Special Collections and may not be checked out. Library patrons and researchers are welcome to view and use our collections.

Special Collections Room

The Williamson Room

The Williamson Room houses our Rare Books and Civil War Collection, Heritage Collection, and Map Collection. Patrons are allowed to use The Williamson Room for study and research by  checking in with the Special Collections librarian. At this time, we are not taking reservations for use of the Williamson Room. Please note that we are following recommended protocols for social distancing and using face coverings during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Please call the Special Collections Department at 615-595-1246, ext. 1, for more information. Rules and conditions apply.

The Williamson Room, located in the Special Collections Department
Franklin High School Yearbook cover 1938

Franklin High School 1938 Yearbook

Enjoy browsing history!

  1. The Rebel 1938 Franklin High School Yearbook
Excellent Citizens and Notable Partings, book cover

Everybody's Talking About our Excellent Citizens!

Excellent Citizens and Notable Partings, recently published by the Special Collections Department, is a compilation of portraits and profiles as published in the series, “Portrait of an Excellent Citizen,” in The Review-Appeal, between the years 1966 and 1968. One hundred and forty-three local citizens are portrayed in short biographies and hand drawn portraits. This book enlarges their lives by including their obituaries, feature articles, family-submitted entries, ads of the era, and quotations from other local writers. 

This is an 8.5 x 11” hardbound book, 359 pp., with name and subject indices. The price is $40 and is sold through Amazon and local booksellers. 

Please contact the Special Collections Department if you have any questions about the book. 615-595-1246. 

E-mail us at SpecialCollections.Library@williamsoncounty-tn.gov.

Names featured in the  book:

James Boyd Akin, James Clayton Arnold, William Casey Ashworth, Charles Mark Ballard, Roy Edwin Barker, Col. Fulton Beasley, John Thomas Beasley, John S. Beasley II, Joe Bellenfant, Jimmie Dee Bennett, Tyler Berry, Jr., James William Bond, John A. Bragg, Ransom Joseph Brent, Bess J. Buford, Elmer Ernest Byars, Byrd Douglas Cain, Jr., Mrs. Georgia (Ollie Edgmon) Cameron, James William Cameron, Stewart Campbell, James Henry Chapman, Joe Clinard, Dr. James A. Cogswell, Haywood Clark Cole, Joseph Powell Covington, Herschell Eugene Crawford, Lois Crowley, Glen Davis, Woody Dickerson, Col. R. L. Duncan, Josiah Carr Eggleston, William Bryan Ehresman, Mrs. T. Y. (Bessie Parks) English, Robert C. Finley, Jr., Cynthia Fleming, Cliff Frensley, Mrs. Edward A. (Libby Zerfoss) Fryer, Clifford Leroy Gardner, Dr. Raymond Albert Gathmann, Mrs. Z. B. (Goldie Gertrude Butner) Gentry, Henry Goodpasture, Bobby J. Goodwin, Frank Gray, Jr., William Frank Gray, Curtis C. Green, J. W. Greer, Judge Fulton Mayberry Greer, Blythe Grigsby, Dr. Harry Jasper Guffee, Dan Hagerty, Loy G. Hardcastle, Prof. Henry Hardison, Matthew Thomas Harwell, Judge John Hughes Henderson, Mrs. Thomas P. Henderson, Joe Rucker Hendricks, Wilson Herbert, Rev. John C. Hight, Homer Roger Hill, Paul Ellis Hinson, Mrs. Ivy Ellis Holt, James William Hood, Lewis Morgan Hood, Roy D. Hughes, Harrell T. Hunt, Dr. R. H. Hutcheson, Harry Perkins Isaacs, Alfred E. Jaqueth, Vergil Roland Jenkins, Mayor Asa Jewell, Dr. C. C. Johnson, Howard E. Johnston, Joe Turner Jones, Myron Keith, Brown Campbell Kinnard, Will C. Lanier, Stephen S. Lawrence, John Marshall Liggett, Davis Milton Lillard, W. F. “Jumbo” Little, Herbert McCall, Thomas McCall, John M. McCord, Cletus W. McWilliams, Johnnie Allen Marlin, Henry Hunter Mayberry, Jr., Rev. Thomas A. Meadows, William Hart Miller, L. I. Mills, Jr., Van B. Montague, Tom C. Moody, Robert Nathaniel Moore, Frank A. North, Paul Ogilvie, Walter W. Ogilvie, Glen Overbey, Carl Newell Owen, Joseph Hamilton Thompson Paine, Clyde Pewitt, Joe Pinkerton, John D. Pinkerton, William Ross Price, Dr. Walter Pyle, Mrs. J. E. (Edna Harper) Ragan, James Albert Ragsdale, Paul Redick, Clair D. Regen, Mrs. M. T. Regen, Joseph Lee Ridley, Charles A. Rigsby, Herbert A. Robinson, Mrs. Floyd (Lucinda Kimmins) Sandlin, W. P. Scales, Bob Sewell, Jesse E. Short, Jr., B. Wayne Sims, John Sloan, John L. Smith, Mrs. Paul (Inge Meyring) Smith, Richard Hanes Sparkman, Prof. C. B. Spencer, Chester A. Stephens, Emmett T. Strickland, Prof. Barry Sutton, Prof. Daly Thompson, Martin Tohrner, Mrs. Martin (Peggy Shatz) Tohrner, Felix Wesley Truett, Joe Turk, Rev. James Edward Underwood, Dr. J. O. Walker, William H. Walker, Ed B. Warren, Judge James W. Warren, James B. White, Mrs. James B. (Virginia Perry) White, Melvin White, Dr. Joseph L. Willoughby, Mrs. Franklin D. (Peggy Stephenson) Wilson, W. C. Yates