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History · Franklin

Franklin dates to 1770, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Heard County Jail. Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1941 on.

1770founded
1on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Franklin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Franklin began

When was Franklin founded?

1770

Franklin dates its founding to 1770 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1831.

2020 census: 950256 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1831.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.

Older than the countryEstablished in 1770, 6 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Franklin, 1770 to 1979

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1770
    FoundingFranklin is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1831Post officeThe Heard Court House post office opens
  5. 1834Born hereWilliam Anderson Handley is born here
  6. 1835Post officeThe Heard Court House post office closes
  7. 1835Post officeThe Franklin post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1935Born hereLarry Walker is born here
  10. 1941In the archiveFranklin, Heard County, Georgia
  11. 1979BuiltHeard County Jail is built
The story

How Franklin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Franklin.

Read it all →

Franklin was settled in 1770, and was designated seat of the newly formed Heard County in 1831. The town was hit by a tornado just before midnight on March 25, 2021, with multiple areas in downtown being heavily damaged with the most severe damage being rated high-end EF2. The tornado later became violent and hit nearby Newnan, Georgia to the east at EF4 strength, indirectly killing one person.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Franklin, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s6 items
Franklin, Heard County, Georgia1941Franklin, Heard County, GeorgiaFranklin, Heard County, Georgia1941Franklin, Heard County, GeorgiaFranklin, Heard County, Georgia1941Franklin, Heard County, GeorgiaFranklin, Georgia. Heard County1941Franklin, Georgia. Heard CountyFranklin, Heard County, Georgia1941Franklin, Heard County, GeorgiaFranklin, Heard County, Georgia1941Franklin, Heard County, Georgia
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Franklin, Heard County, Georgia
Retake this viewFranklin, Heard County, Georgia, 1941

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Franklin’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Franklin

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1981
Heard County Jail
Heard County Jail, built 1979
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque1
Heard County JailRomanesque · Built 1979

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Franklin

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

See all →
William Anderson HandleyAmerican politician · b. 1834
L
Larry WalkerAmerican artist · b. 1935
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Franklin’s post office has been open since 1835. Another post office, Heard Court House, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Heard Court House
1831–1835
Franklin
1835–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Riverside
Gone or out of use
Heard County Jailbuilding
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Franklin
BevisCaswellFranklin City

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

Help out

Finish Franklin’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFranklin, Heard County, Georgia: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Franklin’s history

What year was Franklin founded?

In 1770, according to Wikidata. Franklin’s post office opened in 1831.

What is on the National Register in Franklin?

One place: the Heard County Jail (listed 1981).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.