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B+History
History · Franklin

Franklin dates to 1860, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1915 on and the census since 1900.

1860founded
4on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Franklin began

When was Franklin founded?

1860

Franklin dates its founding to 1860 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 435 in 19002020 census: 1,025166 years

How historic is Franklin?

B+

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1864.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Franklin’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Franklin is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Franklin’s overall grade.
Founding era1860, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194022.8% of homes (±11.2) · typical ID town 8.5% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register4 listings, 38.7 per 10,000 residents · typical ID town 8.4 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 71%
NewerOlder

Idaho towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Idaho town has 8.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Franklin’s 38.7 sits above most of its state (83% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.2 points). Two sources give 1860.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

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.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1920 and 1970, then more than doubled.On the map since 19153 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1983. Watch Franklin change.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ 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
People over time

Franklin, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020589 in 1920Low: 402

Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1970, then more than doubled.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

On the map

Franklin on the map, 1915 to 1983

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 1915 USGS mapFranklin on the 1969 USGS mapFranklin on the 1983 USGS map1915Preston sheet · 1:125,000

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

How Franklin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Franklin.

Read it all →

The town was founded by Mormon pioneers led by Thomas S. Smart on April 14, 1860, in what was then Washington Territory, although at the time it was believed the settlement was within the bounds of Utah Territory. The town was named for Franklin Richards, an Apostle for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Franklin is the first permanent European settlement in present-day Idaho. Its political status remained ambiguous until an 1872 survey determined the townsite was in Idaho Territory about 1-mile (1.6 km) north of the Utah Territory border. The area within the town limits was platted into square blocks in 1864.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Franklin, 1860 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860
    FoundingFranklin is established
  3. 1864Post officeThe Franklin post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1904BuiltFranklin City Hall is built
  6. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 21st century
  8. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,025
By decade

Franklin, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Old Franklin Idaho City Hall2010Old Franklin Idaho City HallHatch House2010Hatch HouseWelcome to2008Welcome toFranklin, Idaho2007Franklin, IdahoIDMap-doton-Franklin2004IDMap-doton-Franklin
On the National Register

4 historic places in Franklin

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
L. H. Hatch House
L. H. Hatch HouseFranklin City Hall, built 1904Franklin Co-operative Mercantile InstitutionRelic Hall
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
Rustic1
L. H. Hatch HouseGreek Revival
Franklin City HallBuilt 1904
Franklin Co-operative Mercantile InstitutionGreek Revival
Relic HallRustic

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

Questions about Franklin’s history

What year was Franklin founded?

In 1860, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Franklin’s post office opened in 1864, and the census of 1900 counted 435 people here.

How does Franklin rank for history?

Franklin is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Franklin?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the L. H. Hatch House (listed 1973, the first).

How old are the homes in Franklin?

23% of Franklin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.2 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho town; the median home was built in 1987.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, 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.