History of The Hayes House
Now associated with the Hayes family, the house was originally built in 1899 by Joshua Bates Lillie. The New York businessman founded the Lillie Mill Company in Franklin in 1869, and his success earned him enough money to build many grand houses in Williamson County. This house was the last property commissioned by Lillie before his death in 1908. In the early 1930s, brothers Wirt and Alex Harlin purchased farmland and began moving into nearby homes off of Franklin Road. The Harlins’ earnings with the Red Kap clothing company allowed them to expand this small-scale farm to breed a relatively new type of gaited horse, the Tennessee Walking Horse. After their initial success, the brothers expanded their operation and purchased adjacent land and real estate. In 1933, they acquired the property that is today known as Harlinsdale, including this Victorian farmhouse that would become the beating heart of the farm.
Arrival of The Hayes Family
With their growing business, the brothers petitioned their 25-year-old nephew Harlin Hayes to relocate from Gamaliel, Kentucky to Franklin, Tennessee to oversee horse breeding and training on their new farm. With this job opportunity, Wirt and Alex Harlin also offered the house as a residence for their nephew and his family. Harlin Hayes accepted, and moved into a smaller worker residence on the property. After some renovations were made to the Hayes house, he moved into the residence with his wife Maurie and two-year-old daughter Mary Etta in 1936. Four years later, Harlin and Maurie welcomed their second child, James “Jim” Harlin Hayes, who was born in the house in February 1940. As Harlinsdale expanded over the years, the Hayes House remained relatively unchanged, keeping watch over the farm as workers came and went, family members were born and died, and while generations of Tennessee Walking Horses roamed the surrounding barns and pastures.
Jim Goes Ham
Later hailed as the “Father of Franklin Radio,” Jim Hayes earned his general class amateur radio license when he was 16 years old. Surrounded by radio equipment, his first broadcasts took place in his bedroom from amateur radio station KFKJC where he was able to reach 44 states and 30 countries. On clear nights, Jim would sneak out of the house and climb the roofs of nearby buildings to get a stronger radio signal. In 1957, Jim began working part-time for local station AM WAGG emceeing a gospel radio show on Sundays. In a 1958 Nashville Banner profile, Jim commented on his home at Harlinsdale and hopes for his future, noting, “ I have had wonderful opportunities here...and I’m sure looking forward to my college work and the future. In 1963, Jim married Franklin High School classmate Judy Grigsby, and the two alter graduated from David Lipscomb College. Though Jim earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, he was drawn back to Franklin and chose to pursue his passion for radio. Jim established multiple radio stations in Middle Tennessee. Jim and Judy also started an engineering consulting company, Broadcast Associates, with partners Bob Sewell, Revis Hobbs, Dan Rogers, and Frank Beasley.
Riding The Waves Home
When his father died in 1980, Jim Hayes used his broadcasting experience to take over the role of auctioneer during the Harlinsdale horse and livestock sales. Jim’s career in radio came full circle again when festival partners and community organizers asked Harlinsdale to host the inaugural Pilgrimage Music and Arts Festival in 2015. One of the festival’s main sponsors was Jim’s old radio station WIZO, now broadcasting as Lightning 100.01 FM. Jim passed away in 2019, and his love of broadcasting and commitment to his family and community are remembered both on this site and by all the people he reached through his amateur and professional broadcasts.
Old House, Fresh Paint
In the mid-1990s, the Hayes House found new life as an art studio. Barbara Harlin, wife of Bill Harlin, was an accomplished artist and member of the local JGP Artists, named for their teacher Juanita Greene Parks. From 1945-1974, Parks served as the art director of Nashville’s Watkins Institute. When the JGP Artists needed a new studio, Barbara suggested the Hayes House. The group found inspiration at Harlinsdale for the next 19 years. Artists filled vacant rooms with pastels, watercolors, and drawings that depicted horses, views of the farm, and still lifes. During their annual “Fine Art in the Barn,” JGP Artists shared their work with the community and donated a portion of the proceeds to charity. The group relocated when the City of Franklin purchased the farm in 2004, but the JGP Artists continue to call Franklin home. This room honors the history of the Hayes House as an art studio.