Franklin Grove was named for James R. Franklin, a pioneer who settled in a grove near the town site.
The Lincoln Highway Association (LHA) maintains a national tourist center in Franklin Grove, in a historic building built by Harry Isaac Lincoln, a cousin of Abraham Lincoln. The LHA is a national organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the Lincoln Highway, the first road across the United States of America, which was routed through Franklin Grove.
The Nachusa Grasslands, a prairie restoration operated by the Nature Conservancy, began operating in 1986.
In 1857 the town of Franklin Grove was incorporated under a general law in force at that date. On May 11, 1857, the citizens of the incorporated district met to vote on the question of incorporation ; and after a president and clerk were sworn, 36 votes were cast for and 17 against incorporation. Josiah Hughes, Jonas Clisbee, L. M. Blaisdell, S. J. Smith and A. W. Tolman were elected trustees, with L. M.
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The village of Franklin Grove is situated in the N.E. J Sec. 1, T. 21, R. 10. The first movement toward making a town here was in 1848 or 1849, when Christian Lahman, who owned the southern part of what is now Franklin, laid out in lots about ten acres in the southwestern part of the village. The only building then in this vicinity was the Minor House, which was used by various parties as a hotel until the new one was built on the same site.
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History of Lee County, Illinois1914 · page 309Read the page →
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About 1842 the little village of Chaplin was laid out, and now forms the part of Franklin Grove west of the schoolhouse. Mrs. E. C. Thomas died in August. E. C. Thomas spent the winter in Galena.
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History of Lee County, Illinois1914 · page 313Read the page →
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In 1853 Adrastus W. Tolman, F. D. Robertson and Rev. Christian Lahman laid out the village of Franklin Grove. The name was given to the town by John Dixon in honor of his son, Franklin Dixon. Dixon, Franklin Grove, and Nachusa, are namesakes of the Dixon family. It is said Col. John Dement had an interest in the new callage for several years.
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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 (12), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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