This July 4th, as we stop everything to celebrate the 233rd birthday of our country, it seems a suitable time to reflect on the generosity, hard work and foresight of our early pioneers who helped to build and shape America into the great country we are so proud of today.

One such admirable pioneer settler to Franklin County is Allen Gipson, who over a century ago donated a large tract of land to the Sewanee Domain as the original benefactor to the University of the South. You might say he planted a tree whose shade he knew he would never sit in (but his ancestors surely would) when he bestowed that tract, where today sits...  
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