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AHistory
History · Franklinton

Franklinton’s post office opened in 1839, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #18 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it

7 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1978 on, and the census since 1860.

1839first post office
7on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Franklinton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Franklinton began

When was Franklinton founded?

1839

The Franklinton post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 160 in 18602020 census: 2,456187 years

How historic is Franklinton?

A

More historic than 88% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Franklinton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).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 88% of U.S. towns, #18 of 290 in North Carolina. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Franklinton’s overall grade.
Founding era1839, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194026.6% of homes (±6.4) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register7 listings, 10 historic buildings, 37.8 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 88%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 94%

North Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical North Carolina town has 12.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Franklinton’s 37.8 sits above most of its state (67% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.Deep rootsA post office since 1839: 187 years of Franklinton.Old housesHalf of Franklinton’s homes were built before 1959.
★ 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
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDr. J.H. Harris House: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
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
10
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Shemuel Kearney House
Dr. J. H. Harris House, built 1904Dr. J. A. Savage HouseFranklinton DepotSterling Cotton MillC.L. and Bessie G. McGhee HouseAldridge H. Vann House, built 1918
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Georgian1
Gambrel Roof1
Queen Anne1
Late Victorian1
Industrial Italianate1
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Shemuel Kearney HouseGeorgian
Dr. J. H. Harris HouseQueen Anne · Built 1904
Dr. J. A. Savage HouseBuilding
Franklinton DepotLate Victorian
Sterling Cotton MillIndustrial Italianate
C.L. and Bessie G. McGhee HouseLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
Aldridge H. Vann House20th Century Revival · Built 1918

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

Timeline

Franklinton, 1839 to 1978

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1839Post officeThe Franklinton post office opens
  3. 1873Born hereWilbur Wade Card is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1904BuiltDr. J. H. Harris House is built
  6. 1906In the archiveDr. J.H. Harris House
  7. 1918BuiltAldridge H. Vann House is built
  8. 1926Born hereSoupy Sales is born here
  9. 1944Born hereJim Bibby is born here
  10. 1949Born hereHenry Bibby is born here
  11. 1978On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Franklinton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Franklinton.

Read it all →

Franklinton, was established as Franklin Depot in 1839 on land owned by Shemuel Kearney (1791–1860), son of Crawford Kearney and Nancy White. A home constructed by grandfather Shemuel Kearney (1734–1808) was originally located south of town and is currently the second oldest residence in Franklin County, built in 1759. The building was purchased in 2009 and moved to nearby Louisburg for restoration. Franklin Depot changed its name to Franklinton in 1842 when the town was incorporated. Like Franklin County, Franklinton was named for Benjamin Franklin.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Franklinton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Dr. J.H. Harris House1906Dr. J.H. Harris House
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today10 recent
Bank & School, Franklinton 0012011Bank & School, Franklinton 001SterlingCottonMill2006SterlingCottonMillJHHarris2006JHHarrisFranklintonDepot2006FranklintonDepotAHVann2006AHVannSTA600572004STA60057STA600552004STA60055STA600542004STA60054STA600522004STA60052Franklinton, NC2004Franklinton, NC
On the map

Franklinton on the map, 1978 to 1991

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 1978 USGS mapFranklinton on the 1984 USGS mapFranklinton on the 1991 USGS map1978Franklinton sheet · 1:24,000

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Dr. J.H. Harris House
Retake this viewDr. J.H. Harris House, 1906

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Franklinton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Franklinton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001900195020002,456

Grew from 160 people in 1860 to 2,456 in 2020, more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Franklinton

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

See all →
Soupy SalesAmerican comedian, actor and radio/television p… · b. 1926
Henry BibbyAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1949
Wilbur Wade CardAmerican baseball player, coach, and athletic d… · b. 1873
Jim BibbyAmerican baseball player · b. 1944
W
Wilmont PerryAmerican football player · b. 1975
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Franklinton’s post office has been open since 1839.

Gone or out of use
Albian Academyschool
1cemetery inside Franklinton
Fair View

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

Questions about Franklinton’s history

What year was Franklinton founded?

The Franklinton post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Franklinton rank for history?

Franklinton is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #18 of 290 in North Carolina. 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 Shemuel Kearney House (listed 1975, the first). 10 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Franklinton?

27% of Franklinton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1959.

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 (11), Wikidata (1), 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.