The story
Read it all →How Franklinville came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Franklinville.
The town was first settled around 1806 by Joseph McCluer and known then as McCluer Settlement.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A+History
History · Franklinville
Franklinville dates to 1806, and 72% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1820.
1806founded
2on the National Register
72%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
3famous people
Quick answers
How Franklinville began
When was Franklinville founded?
1806
Franklinville dates its founding to 1806 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1820.
First census: 1,453 in 18202020 census: 1,652220 years
How historic is Franklinville?
A+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1820.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Franklinville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Franklinville is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Franklinville’s overall grade.
Founding era1806, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194071.7% of homes (±8.0) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register2 listings, 22 historic buildings, 114 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 96%
NewerOlder
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Franklinville’s 114 sits above most of its state (77% of New York towns have fewer) while its 22 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% 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 (±8.0 points). Two sources give 1806.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Franklinville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1820 and 1830, then grew 3-fold.Old housesHalf of Franklinville’s homes were built before 1938.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1912, drew every building in Franklinville.Deep rootsEstablished in 1806: 220 years of Franklinville.
★ What stands out · People over time
Franklinville, census by census
Lost a third of its people between 1820 and 1830, then grew 3-fold.
21 censuses, 1820–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Franklinville’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Franklinville, building by building, 1884–1912
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Franklinville, 1806 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1806FoundingFranklinville is established
- 1845Born hereMyron H. Ranney is born here
- 1850
Born hereWilliam E. Mason is born here - 1889Born hereWade Morton is born here
- 20th century
- 1908
In the archivePolo ground (New York) : a game between New-York & Chicago. Attendance 38,000 - 1910
In the archivePublic schools - 1924
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 21st century
- 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 3,128
By decade
Franklinville, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1900s–1910s5 items
1910
1910
19101920s–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 albumOn the map
Franklinville on the map, 1924 to 1963
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Franklinville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1924Franklinville sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Franklinville.
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.
Retake this viewPolo ground (New York) : a game between New-York & Chicago. Attendance 38,000, 1908
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Franklinville’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
2 listings protect 22 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
22
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →3 famous people were born in Franklinville
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Help out
Finish Franklinville’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Questions about Franklinville’s history
What year was Franklinville founded?
In 1806, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Franklinville’s post office opened in 1820, and the census of 1820 counted 1,453 people here.
How does Franklinville rank for history?
Franklinville is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns. 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 Franklinville?
72% of Franklinville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the Library of Congress (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.