Editing Franklin, West Virginia (section)

==History==
The Town of Franklin is situated in the [[Allegheny Mountains]] on the eastern edge of the [[Monongahela National Forest]] and along the [[South Branch of the Potomac River]]. This region was populated by Native American cultures for centuries prior to the arrival of English immigrants in the mid-18th century. During the [[French and Indian War]], conflict between the early settlers and Native American populations included two battles at frontier fortifications at [[Upper Tract, West Virginia|Upper Tract]] and [[Fort Seybert, West Virginia|Fort Seybert]] in 1758, both ten miles distant from the future location of Franklin. The land on which Franklin was laid out was first patented by brothers Francis and George Evick in 1769.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Boggs|first1=Elsie Byrd|title=A History of Franklin: The County-Seat of Pendleton County West Virginia|date=1960|publisher=McClure Printing Company|location=Staunton, Virginia|page=25}}</ref>

[[File:2016-06-06 09 38 36 View south along U.S. Route 220 (Main Street) just south of Pine Street in Franklin, Pendleton County, West Virginia.jpg|thumb|left|Main Street in downtown Franklin]]
[[Pendleton County, West Virginia|Pendleton County]] was divided from parts of Augusta, Hardy, and Rockingham Counties (Virginia) by an act of the [[Virginia General Assembly]] in 1787.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Boggs|first1=Elsie Byrd|title=A History of Franklin: The County-Seat of Pendleton County West Virginia|date=1960|publisher=McClure Printing Company|location=Staunton, Virginia|page=21}}</ref> The earliest court sessions in the new county were held at the home of Captain Zeruiah Stratton near the present-day village of [[Ruddle, West Virginia|Ruddle]] until Francis Evick offered a part of his land to become a county seat around 1789.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Boggs|first1=Elsie Byrd|title=A History of Franklin: The County-Seat of Pendleton County West Virginia|date=1960|publisher=McClure Printing Company|location=Staunton, Virginia|pages=25–26}}</ref> Additional lots were divided off of Evick's land to form the new town. On December 19, 1794, the Virginia General Assembly chartered the town of Franklin and recognized it as the seat of Pendleton County.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Boggs|first1=Elsie Byrd|title=The History of Franklin: The County-Seat of Pendleton County West Virginia|date=1960|publisher=McClure Printing Company|location=Staunton, Virginia|page=26}}</ref> Franklin grew steadily over the first half of the 19th century, becoming a local center of commerce and industry. In 1834, there were two stores, two tanneries, three saddlers, two carpenters, two shoemakers, two blacksmiths, one gunsmith, one tailor, one hat-maker, and one cabinet-maker listed among the town's residents.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Boggs|first1=Elsie Byrd|title=The History of Franklin: The County-Seat of Pendleton County West Virginia|date=1960|publisher=McClure Printing Company|location=Staunton, Virginia|page=27}}</ref>

At the outbreak of the [[American Civil War]] in 1861, Pendleton County voted to uphold [[Virginia in the American Civil War|Virginia's Ordinance of Secession]], despite strong Union sympathies from many of its residents.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Boggs|first1=Elsie Byrd|title=The History of Franklin: The County-Seat of Pendleton County, Virginia|date=1960|publisher=McClure Printing Company|location=Staunton, Virginia|page=37}}</ref> Localized fighting occurred between northern and southern regiments throughout the war, but the only major battle to impact the Franklin area occurred in May 1862. Following the [[First Battle of Kernstown]], Confederate [[Thomas J. Jackson|Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson]] initiated his [[Jackson's Valley Campaign|Valley Campaign]] to draw attention of the [[Union Army]] away from its [[Peninsula Campaign]] nearing the Confederate capitol at [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]]. On May 8, 1862, Jackson clashed with Union regiments from West Virginia and Ohio under the command of Brigadier General [[Robert H. Milroy]] at the [[Battle of McDowell]] (some 30 miles from Franklin). After a day of fighting, the Union forces withdrew from the battle and began retreating towards Franklin, pursued by Jackson for nearly a week. The armies clashed briefly at McCoy's Mill (three miles south of Franklin, now a National Historic Site), but Jackson withdrew and returned to the [[Shenandoah Valley]] to continue his campaign.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Boggs|first1=Elsie Byrd|title=The History of Franklin: The County-Seat of Pendleton County West Virginia|date=1960|publisher=McClure Printing Company|location=Staunton, Virginia|pages=38–39}}</ref>

Franklin did not grow significantly in the years following the American Civil War until the early twentieth century. In 1917, the town's boundaries were expanded, the streets were macadamized, and public water and electricity were brought into the town.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Boggs|first1=Elsie Byrd|title=The History of Franklin: The County-Seat of Pendleton County West Virginia|date=1960|publisher=McClure Printing Company|location=Staunton, Virginia|page=63}}</ref> However, tragedy struck on April 17, 1924, when a massive fire destroyed the entire business district and caused $500,000.00 (~$6.5 million adjusted for present inflation) in damages.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Boggs|first1=Elsie Byrd|title=A History of Franklin: The County-Seat of Pendleton County West Virginia|date=1960|publisher=McClure Printing Company|location=Staunton, Virginia|page=65}}</ref> Most of the town's center, its commercial district, and the Pendleton County Courthouse were constructed following the 1924 fire. Another disaster struck the town in 1985. The South Branch of the [[Potomac River]] in Franklin crested at 22.6 feet during the [[1985 Election day floods]]. Flood stage at the time in the shallow riverbed was only 7 feet.<ref name=dwhite>West Virginia Gazette: "Remembering the '85 floods" (D. White) November 4, 2010</ref>