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History · Franklin

Franklin’s post office opened in 1856, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1909 on and old-book passages.

1856first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Franklin began

When was Franklin founded?

1856

The Franklin post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 167170 years
Founding year: the first Franklin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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.On the map since 19096 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1980. Watch Franklin change.
★ 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.
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On the map

Franklin on the map, 1909 to 1980

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 1909 USGS mapFranklin on the 1941 USGS mapFranklin on the 1953 USGS mapFranklin on the 1968 USGS mapFranklin on the 1975 USGS mapFranklin on the 1980 USGS map1909Florin sheet · 1:31,680

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

The story so far

Franklin, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Franklin yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Franklin is a census-designated place in Sacramento County, California, United States. Franklin sits at an elevation of 13 feet (4.0 m). The 2020 United States census reported Franklin's population at 167. Franklin is located about 2 miles (3.2 km) west-southwest of Elk Grove. The town was named after the Franklin House that Andrew George built in 1856.

Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 155 to 167 (+8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Franklin in 1855

Passages that mention Franklin, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Franklin County, a part of Hampshire until 1812, bears a close resemblance in its educational features to those already described. Its inhabitants are industrious, love tlieir home, and cherish every privilege tending to increase their enjoyment and enhance its attractions.
History of western Massachusetts. The counties of Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and Berkshire. Embracing an outline aspects and leading interests, and separate histories of its one hundred towns1855 · page 500Read the page →
Read the text

Franklin County, a part of Hampshire until 1812, bears a close resemblance in its educational features to those already described. Its inhabitants are industrious, love tlieir home, and cherish every privilege tending to increase their enjoyment and enhance its attractions.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The Franklin County Agricultural Society was incorporated March 20, 1850, and the Society Avas organized under the act, on the 22d of May, in that year. The persons named in the act of incorporation were H. G. Newcomb, Daniel 11. Waite and W. T. Davis. Henry W. Clapp was chosen President fur that y…
History of western Massachusetts. The counties of Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and Berkshire. Embracing an outline aspects and leading interests, and separate histories of its one hundred towns1855 · page 405Read the page →
Read the text

The Franklin County Agricultural Society was incorporated March 20, 1850, and the Society Avas organized under the act, on the 22d of May, in that year. The persons named in the act of incorporation were H. G. Newcomb, Daniel 11. Waite and W. T. Davis. Henry W. Clapp was chosen President fur that year, and was succeeded by Hon.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Franklin, 1856 to 1943

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Franklin post office opens
  3. 1866Born hereFrances Munds is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1943Post officeThe Franklin post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Franklin had its own post office from 1856 to 1943.

Franklin
1856–1943
18501940today
1cemetery inside Franklin
Franklin

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Franklin’s history

What year was Franklin founded?

The Franklin post office opened in 1856, 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 Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.