Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Franklin

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
AHistory
History · Franklin

Franklin dates to 1825, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #73 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1907 on and the census since 1880.

1825founded
1on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Lrgjr72 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Franklin began

When was Franklin founded?

1825

Franklin dates its founding to 1825 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 151 in 18802020 census: 3,139201 years

How historic is Franklin?

A

More historic than 89% 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: 1828.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 89% of U.S. towns, #73 of 701 in Michigan. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Franklin’s overall grade.
Founding era1825, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194014.9% of homes (±3.7) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 119 historic buildings, 466 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 89%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 90%

Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Franklin’s 466 sits above most of its state (98% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 119 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% 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 (±3.7 points). Two sources give 1825.

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.On the map since 19078 editions of the USGS map, 1907 to 1997. Watch Franklin change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1825: 201 years of Franklin.Old housesHalf of Franklin’s homes were built before 1958.
★ 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
On the map

Franklin on the map, 1907 to 1997

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 1907 USGS mapFranklin on the 1936 USGS mapFranklin on the 1943 USGS mapFranklin on the 1952 USGS mapFranklin on the 1968 USGS mapFranklin on the 1973 USGS mapFranklin on the 1983 USGS mapFranklin on the 1997 USGS map1907Pontiac sheet · 1:62,500

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

Timeline

Franklin, 1825 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1825
    FoundingFranklin is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1956Born hereJeff Teague is born here
  6. 1991Born hereKenny Ryan is born here
The story

How Franklin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Franklin.

Read it all →

The community was founded in 1825 by Elijah Bullock and other European-American settlers; it was named after Benjamin Franklin, a Founding Father of the United States, in 1831. By 1830, a business district formed. The village has a unique collection of historical structures in original condition that is unusual for suburban Detroit. The village was incorporated in 1953.

ChaptersHistorical markers

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Franklin, decade by decade

Today12 recent
2022 Franklin Cider Mill20222022 Franklin Cider MillDowntown2020DowntownFranklin Village Welcome2014Franklin Village WelcomeFranklin Village School2014Franklin Village SchoolFranklin Village School Marker2014Franklin Village School MarkerFranklin Village Marker2014Franklin Village MarkerFranklin MI Cemetery2014Franklin MI CemeteryFranklin Cemetery Marker Reverse2014Franklin Cemetery Marker ReverseFranklin Cemetery Marker Obverse2014Franklin Cemetery Marker ObverseMarketBasket2013MarketBasketFranklinMichigan012013FranklinMichigan01Farmhousecoffee2013Farmhousecoffee
On the National Register

1 listing protects 119 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
119
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Franklin, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,311

Between 151 and 3,311 people in every census since 1880.

8 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Franklin

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

See all →
Kenny RyanAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1991
J
Jeff KatzAmerican film producer and comic book author
J
Jeff TeagueAmerican automotive designer · b. 1956
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Southfield Township1 historic placeA−Southfield3 historic placesB+Bloomfield Township5 historic placesBBingham FarmsIts storyD

Questions about Franklin’s history

What year was Franklin founded?

In 1825, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Franklin’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1880 counted 151 people here.

How does Franklin rank for history?

Franklin is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #73 of 701 in Michigan. 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.

How old are the homes in Franklin?

15% of Franklin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1958.

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 (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.