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B+History
History · Franklinton

Franklinton dates to 1819, and 7 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #23 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it

Most of Franklinton was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1860.

1819founded
7on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Franklinton began

When was Franklinton founded?

1819

Franklinton dates its founding to 1819 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 143 in 18602020 census: 3,662207 years

How historic is Franklinton?

B+

More historic than 74% 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: 1822.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Franklinton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Franklinton is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #23 of 161 in Louisiana. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Franklinton’s overall grade.
Founding era1819, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19408.4% of homes (±4.7) · typical LA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register7 listings, 19.4 per 10,000 residents · typical LA town 3.8 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 74%
NewerOlder
Louisiana towns of 2,500+ (161)Ahead of 86%

Louisiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Louisiana town has 3.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Franklinton’s 19.4 sits above most of its state (75% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 7 listings outnumber those of 73% 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 (±4.7 points). Two sources give 1819.

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 Franklinton’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 Franklinton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1860 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.Deep rootsEstablished in 1819: 207 years of Franklinton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Franklinton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Franklinton’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

Franklinton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,500190019502000143 in 1860Low: 97

Lost a third of its people between 1860 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

On the National Register

7 historic places in Franklinton

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

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Knight Cabin
Knight Cabin, built 1857Sylvest House, built 1880Thomas M. Babington House, built 1900Franklinton High SchoolGreenlaw House, built 1906Varnado, D.A. and Son Store, built 1900Robert H. Babington House, built 1906
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne2
Vernacular1
Log Construction Dog Trot1
Colonial Revival1
Late Gothic Revival1
Collegiate Gothic1
Knight CabinVernacular · Built 1857
Sylvest HouseLog Construction Dog Trot · Built 1880
Thomas M. Babington HouseColonial Revival · Built 1900
Franklinton High SchoolLate Gothic Revival
Greenlaw HouseQueen Anne · Built 1906
Varnado, D.A. and Son StoreItalianate · Built 1900
All 7 listings
Robert H. Babington HouseBuilding · listed 1979

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

The story

How Franklinton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Franklinton.

Read it all →

Franklinton was founded in 1819, originally under the name of Franklin. It was designated as the parish seat of government on February 10, 1821, two years after the parish was carved out from St. Tammany Parish.

In 1826 the town's name was changed to Franklinton, as there was already another town named Franklin in St. Mary Parish. In 1826, representatives and citizens from both communities showed up in then-state-capital New Orleans to state their cases for keeping the name "Franklin." The legislature allowed Franklin in St. Mary Parish to retain its name, while changing the Washington Parish's newer seat to Franklinton. The parish was largely rural, based in extensive pine forests.

Chapters20th century to present

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Franklinton, 1819 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1819
    FoundingFranklinton is established
  3. 1822Post officeThe Franklinton post office opens
  4. 1857BuiltKnight Cabin is built
  5. 1880BuiltSylvest House is built
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900BuiltThomas M. Babington House is built
  8. 1900Born hereOtto Ernest Passman is born here
  9. 1906BuiltGreenlaw House is built
  10. 1914Born hereJohn L. Magee is born here
  11. 1928Born hereLucius Barker is born here
  12. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1960Born hereJohn L. Crain is born here
  14. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 4,119
By decade

Franklinton, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Food vendor at Washington Parish Fair Grounds2023Food vendor at Washington Parish Fair GroundsLA25sRoad-LA10ew-LA16ewSigns-Franklintown2017LA25sRoad-LA10ew-LA16ewSigns-Franklintown2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBookFranklinton LA Living Room2007Franklinton LA Living RoomVarnadoWM2005VarnadoWMTomBabWM2005TomBabWMSylvestWM2005SylvestWMGreenLawWM2005GreenLawWMFranklinton Middle School in Louisiana (former Franklinton High School)2005Franklinton Middle School in Louisiana (former Frankl…LAMap-doton-Franklinton2004LAMap-doton-Franklinton
On the map

Franklinton on the map, 1950 to 1983

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

Franklinton on the 1950 USGS mapFranklinton on the 1976 USGS mapFranklinton on the 1983 USGS map1950Franklinton 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 Franklinton.

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Franklinton

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

See all →
Otto Ernest PassmanAmerican politician · b. 1900
John L. CrainAmerican academic administrator · b. 1960
John L. MageeAmerican chemist · b. 1914
L
Lucius BarkerAmerican political scientist · b. 1928
Derrick DillonAmerican football wide receiver · b. 1995
R
Ruchell MageeAmerican prisoner · b. 1939

Questions about Franklinton’s history

What year was Franklinton founded?

In 1819, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Franklinton’s post office opened in 1822, and the census of 1860 counted 143 people here.

How does Franklinton rank for history?

Franklinton is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #23 of 161 in Louisiana. 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 Franklinton?

7 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Knight Cabin (listed 1979, the first).

How old are the homes in Franklinton?

8% of Franklinton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1974.

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 (10), Wikidata (6), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.