Kid Rock is trying to save an antebellum home that once belonged to Hank Williams and is now in danger of demolition.
The singer Kid Rock is speaking out against the potential demolition of an antebellum home that was once owned by the late country music legend Hank Williams.
reported that Beechwood Hall was built in the 1850s and is located near Franklin, Tennessee. The home managed to survive the Civil War, and it would go on to be owned by Williams and later by the country music power couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.
The home, which sits on 268 acres, was bought last year by fund manager Larry Keele, but locals are sounding the alarm that they fear that he is planning to demolish it.
Last night, Kid Rock sat down with Tucker Carlson to say that he is “sick of seeing history torn to the ground.”
“Whether it be in the form of monuments, statues and now something so important here in Nashville… where does it end?” he added.
Kid Rock went on to call on others to join the fight to ensure that Beechwood Hall will not be torn down.
“I think there’s going to be many, many people [who] will get on board,” he continued. “They can go to savebeechwood.org, and I think you will see a lot more country music stars, musicians, just great people in the community that want to preserve this for the next generation to come. Generations beyond that.”
“We hope to get this resolved in a good manner,” Kid Rock concluded. “But, if not, we can get some hillbilly stuff goin’ on too.”
Check out Kid Rock’s full comments on this in the video below.
The non-profit Heritage Foundation of Williamson County has released a statement saying that it is working in a “collaborative and positive manner” with Keele to “create a comprehensive preservation plan, and bring resources and solutions to the table for discussion.”
“Our preservation team has recently been to the site,” the group continued. “While the team is conducting research, we are working with the homeowners to preserve the current integrity of the structure by securing it from the elements, vermin, and vandals. We cannot change the decades of past neglect, but we are committed to exploring preservation-minded solutions with the new owners.”
Keele has denied that he wants to demolish Beechwood Hall, instead claiming that the house was in a “deteriorated state” when he bought the property after it was left vacant for decades.
“Contrary to misinformation that is being published, no historical items have been placed in any burn pile and there is no scheduled demolition,” he added.
Keele went on to say that he’s brought in architects to help him restore Beechwood Hall to what it looked like in the 1800s, explaining that a “rear 1970s addition” was removed because it was “not historical.”
The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County is calling for patience at this time.
“Sometimes preservation solutions are quick and easy; more often than not, they are difficult, complex, and time-consuming for all involved,” the non-profit said.
We can only hope that Keele stays true to his word and does not demolish this historic home. We can also empathize with Kid Rock’s frustration, as we’re living in a time when symbols of American history are being erased faster than ever before.
In the end, we must do everything in our power to protect remnants of American history like Beechwood Hall!