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History · Franklin

Franklin dates to 1816, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1920.

1816founded
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Franklin began

When was Franklin founded?

1816

Franklin dates its founding to 1816 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 314 in 19202020 census: 70210 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1821.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.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Franklin are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1816: 210 years of Franklin.
★ 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
Timeline

Franklin, 1816 to 1914

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1816
    FoundingFranklin is established
  3. 1821Post officeThe Franklin post office opens
  4. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1892Post officeThe Franklin post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900Post officeThe Franklin post office opens
  8. 1914Born hereLeo Camera is born here
The story

How Franklin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Franklin.

Read it all →

The town of Franklin was founded by European Americans in 1816 and named for Founding Father Benjamin Franklin of the United States. William Becknell, who is now known as the "Father of the Santa Fe Trail," lived on a farm a few miles northwest of Franklin. There was a spring near Becknell's property, Boone Lick Spring.

The spring had saline water and attracted people from St. Louis and points east, who came to distill the water for its salt. They came so often that they created a trail, calling it Boone's Lick Road. "Boone" refers to Nathan and Daniel Morgan Boone, sons of explorer Daniel Boone. The brothers first operated the saltlick business.

ChaptersKit Carson

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Franklin on the map, 1890 to 1985

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 1890 USGS mapFranklin on the 1985 USGS map1890Glasgow 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.

People over time

Franklin, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 355

Between 70 and 355 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Franklin had its own post office from 1821 to 1892.

Franklin
1821–1892
Franklin
1900–today
18201920today

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

New Franklin3 historic placesA−

Questions about Franklin’s history

What year was Franklin founded?

In 1816, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Franklin’s post office opened in 1821, and the census of 1920 counted 314 people here.

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 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.