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History · Franklin

Franklin’s post office opened in 1847

Most of Franklin was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1940.

1847first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Franklin began

When was Franklin founded?

1847

The Franklin post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 100 in 19402020 census: 191179 years
Founding year: the first Franklin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Franklin’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Franklin are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1847: 179 years of Franklin.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Franklin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Franklin’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Franklin, 1847 to 1951

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847Post officeThe Franklin post office opens
  3. 1874Born hereWilliam Allan Oldfield is born here
  4. 1875Born hereSamuel B. Hill is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1922Born hereTerry Lee Shell is born here
  7. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Franklin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Franklin.

Read it all →

On March 14, 2025, an EF4 tornado destroyed three homes near the community, injuring two people.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Franklin, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Strawberry River at AR 562026Strawberry River at AR 56Strawberry River (upstream) in2026Strawberry River (upstream) inFranklin General Store2026Franklin General StoreFranklin Community Center2026Franklin Community CenterFranklin City Hall2026Franklin City HallDowntown2026DowntownAR 56 crossing the Strawberry River in2026AR 56 crossing the Strawberry River inUntitled photo2026Untitled photo32 N Main202632 N Main
On the map

Franklin on the map, 1951 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Franklin. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Franklin on the 1951 USGS mapFranklin on the 1976 USGS mapFranklin on the 1984 USGS map1951Melbourne sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Franklin.

People over time

Franklin, census by census

010020019401960198020002020Peak: 253

Between 75 and 253 people in every census since 1940.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Franklin’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Franklin

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Samuel B. HillAmerican politician · b. 1875
William Allan OldfieldAmerican politician · b. 1874
T
Terry Lee ShellUnited States federal judge · b. 1922

Questions about Franklin’s history

What year was Franklin founded?

The Franklin post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.