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History · Franklin Township

37% of Franklin Township’s homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: 24 old photos and papers, maps from 1923 on, and the census since 2000.

4on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
24old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Franklin Township’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Franklin Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos24 old photos, postcards and papers, 1905–1933.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Franklin Township, and 5 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19236 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 1994. Watch Franklin Township change.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · By decade

Franklin Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s24 items
Scene on the Allegheny1905Scene on the AlleghenyA.G. Egbert Memorial Fountain in City Park1905A.G. Egbert Memorial Fountain in City ParkWoodwork, checkerboard table for Y.M.C.A1918Woodwork, checkerboard table for Y.M.C.AColerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Franklin Township), Franklinville, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31-FRNK…1933Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Frankl…Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Franklin Township), Franklinville, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31-FRNK…1933Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Frankl…Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Franklin Township), Franklinville, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31-FRNK…1933Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Frankl…Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Franklin Township), Franklinville, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31-FRNK…1933Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Frankl…Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Franklin Township), Franklinville, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31-FRNK…1933Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Frankl…Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Franklin Township), Franklinville, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31-FRNK…1933Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Frankl…Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Franklin Township), Franklinville, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31-FRNK…1933Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Frankl…Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Franklin Township), Franklinville, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31-FRNK…1933Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Frankl…Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Franklin Township), Franklinville, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31-FRNK…1933Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Frankl…Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Franklin Township), Franklinville, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31-FRNK…1933Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Frankl…Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Franklin Township), Franklinville, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31-FRNK…1933Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Frankl…Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Franklin Township), Franklinville, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31-FRNK…1933Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Frankl…Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Franklin Township), Franklinville, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31-FRNK…1933Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Frankl…Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Franklin Township), Franklinville, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31-FRNK…1933Colerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Frankl…John Lyons House, Pennsylvania Furnace Road (Franklin Township), Pennsylvania Furnace, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31…1933John Lyons House, Pennsylvania Furnace Road (Franklin…John Lyons House, Pennsylvania Furnace Road (Franklin Township), Pennsylvania Furnace, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31…1933John Lyons House, Pennsylvania Furnace Road (Franklin…John Lyons House, Pennsylvania Furnace Road (Franklin Township), Pennsylvania Furnace, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31…1933John Lyons House, Pennsylvania Furnace Road (Franklin…John Lyons House, Pennsylvania Furnace Road (Franklin Township), Pennsylvania Furnace, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31…1933John Lyons House, Pennsylvania Furnace Road (Franklin…John Lyons House, Pennsylvania Furnace Road (Franklin Township), Pennsylvania Furnace, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31…1933John Lyons House, Pennsylvania Furnace Road (Franklin…John Lyons House, Pennsylvania Furnace Road (Franklin Township), Pennsylvania Furnace, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31…1933John Lyons House, Pennsylvania Furnace Road (Franklin…John Lyons House, Pennsylvania Furnace Road (Franklin Township), Pennsylvania Furnace, Huntingdon County, PA HABS PA,31…1933John Lyons House, Pennsylvania Furnace Road (Franklin…
1940s–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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Graysville
1820–1920
Huntingdon Furnace
1829–1913
Franklinville
1861–1934
Pennsylvania Furnace
1882–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
FranklinvilleGraysvilleHuntingdon FurnacePennsylvania FurnaceSeven Stars
Gone or out of use
Rural Choice Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Franklin Township
FranklinvilleGraysvillePennsylvania FurnaceSeven Stars

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

On the map

Franklin Township on the map, 1923 to 1994

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

Franklin Township on the 1923 USGS mapFranklin Township on the 1933 USGS mapFranklin Township on the 1946 USGS mapFranklin Township on the 1963 USGS mapFranklin Township on the 1972 USGS mapFranklin Township on the 1994 USGS map1923Tyrone 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 Township.

The story

How Franklin Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Franklin Township.

Read it all →

The Colerain Forges Mansion, Pennsylvania Furnace Mansion, and Spruce Creek Rod and Gun Club are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Franklin Township, 1820 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1820Post officeThe Graysville post office opens
  3. 1829Post officeThe Huntingdon Furnace post office opens
  4. 1861Post officeThe Franklinville post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905In the archiveScene on the Allegheny
  7. 1913Post officeThe Huntingdon Furnace post office closes
  8. 1918In the archiveWoodwork, checkerboard table for Y.M.C.A
  9. 1920Post officeThe Graysville post office closes
  10. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1933In the archiveColerain Forge House, State Route 45 vicinity (Franklin Township), Franklinville, Hunting…
  12. 1934Post officeThe Franklinville post office closes
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.

Scene on the Allegheny
Retake this viewScene on the Allegheny, 1905

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 listings protect 15 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
15
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Colerain Forges Mansion
Colerain Forges MansionHuntingdon FurnacePennsylvania Furnace MansionSpruce Creek Rod and Gun Club
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal3
Colonial Revival1
Colerain Forges MansionFederal
Huntingdon FurnaceFederal
Pennsylvania Furnace MansionFederal
Spruce Creek Rod and Gun ClubColonial Revival

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

People over time

Franklin Township, census by census

010020030040050020002020Peak: 492

Between 447 and 492 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Franklin Township

Nobody well known was born in Franklin Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Fred WaringAmerican musician · b. 1900
Henry Adams ThompsonAmerican politician · b. 1837
Thomas Conrad PorterAmerican botanist · b. 1822
E
Ethan StiefelAmerican ballet dancer · b. 1973
John ScottAmerican lawyer and Republican party politician… · b. 1824
Farran ZerbeAmerican numismatist · b. 1871
Help out

Finish Franklin Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewScene on the Allegheny: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

West TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLogan Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSpruce Creek Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBarree Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWarriors Mark Township1 historic placeA−Ferguson Township1 historic placeB+BaileyvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Franklin Township’s history

What is on the National Register in Franklin Township?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Colerain Forges Mansion (listed 1990, the first), and 1 historic district, the Huntingdon Furnace, with 7 contributing buildings. 15 historic buildings in all.

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 Wikimedia Commons (21), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, 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.