Editing Franklin, Iowa (section)

==History==

Franklin (formerly Franklin Centre) <ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_WVJKAAAAYAAJ | title=The History of Lee County, Iowa | publisher=Western Historical Company | year=1879 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_WVJKAAAAYAAJ/page/n678 677]}}</ref> was populated in the late 1830s by farmers like Alexander Cruickshank and [[Germans|German]] immigrants Henry and Jacob Abel. The first schoolhouse would be built on the Cruickshank farm in 1839.<ref name="franklinhistory" >{{cite web | url= http://iagenweb.org/lee/biography-history/history/1914Vol1/1914-township-histories.htm  | title=1914 Township History | date=2019 | website=IAGenWeb Project | access-date=March 16, 2024}}</ref> The town was laid out on March 21, 1840, by James L. Scott and Samuel C. Reed. They intended the town to be the county seat of Lee County, though never served as such.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://iagenweb.org/lee/biography-history/history/1914Vol1/1914-towns-villages.htm  | title=1914 Towns and Villages | date=2019 | website=IAGenWeb Project | access-date=March 16, 2024}}</ref> The city's namesake is [[Benjamin Franklin]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n120 131]}}</ref> In 1841 John Gandy and Jesse H. Catting were elected to be [[Justice of the peace|justices of the peace]]. In 1842 the first church in Franklin was constructed by the [[Methodism|Methodists]]. Franklin’s growth was aided due to being positioned on the [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]].<ref name="franklinhistory" />
In the first ever mayoral town election, Preston Nichols (D) was elected mayor. He was a circuit court judge for 36 years before he was appointed mayor of Franklin.