The Sheehan-Godsell Cabin

Franklin’s earliest known non-native settlers were Michael and William Sheehan who arrived from County Cork, Ireland, to register a claim in 1834. In 1836, the Sheehan brothers built Franklin’s first European-style log cabin in the 10600 block of St. Martins Road. Later, they were joined by their brother Patrick and his family along with other members of Michael’s family. A two-story addition was attached to the cabin during the 1850s to accommodate additional family members. Michael Sheehan died while rebuilding Holy Assumption Church in 1846, Patrick Sheehan died in 1896, and no records have been found for William Sheehan after 1869. The cabin remained in the family until Dennis Sheehan, the last of Patrick Sheehan’s sons, sold the farm to Michael Godsell in 1911.

Michael Godsell and his wife raised five children, including a son, Tom, who bought the farm in 1920. Tom Godsell married Mary Wallace in 1921 and they continued to live on the farm with their seven children until 1967. By this point in time, Franklin was gravitating from a rural to suburban lifestyle and aging farms became attractive to real estate developers. During the 1970s, the Godsell farm was transformed into the Mission Hills subdivision, but fortunately, the original Sheehan-Godsell cabin was recognized as a historic landmark. Through a cooperative venture by the Franklin Historical Society, the City of Franklin and the Bicentennial Commission, the Godsell cabin was detached from the farmhouse and towed to Legend Park in 1975. In a detailed, labor-intensive reconstruction project, the cabin was completely dismantled and reassembled with new timbers in 2004 to preserve its historic integrity.