Franklin, Georgia

Franklin is a city in Heard County, Georgia, United States. The population was 950 in 2020. Franklin is the county seat of Heard County.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The city is named after Benjamin Franklin.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

History

Franklin was settled in 1770, and was designated seat of the newly formed Heard County in 1831.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The town was hit by a tornado just before midnight on March 25, 2021, with multiple areas in downtown being heavily damaged with the most severe damage being rated high-end EF2. The tornado later became violent and hit nearby Newnan, Georgia to the east at EF4 strength, indirectly killing one person.<ref name="FFC">Template:Cite report</ref><ref name="DAT">Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

Franklin is located in central Heard County at Template:Coord,<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> along the Chattahoochee River. U.S. Route 27 passes through the east side of the city on a bypass, leading north Template:Convert to Carrollton and south Template:Convert to LaGrange. Georgia State Route 34 passes through the center of Franklin, leading northeast Template:Convert to Newnan and southwest Template:Convert to the Alabama border. Georgia State Route 100 joins SR 34 for part of its path through Franklin, but leads northwest Template:Convert to Ephesus and southeast 14 miles to Hogansville.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Franklin has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert are land and Template:Convert, or 4.00%, are water.<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

Demographics

Franklin racial composition as of 2020<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	625	65.79%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	217	22.84%
Native American	3	0.32%
Asian	20	2.11%
Other/Mixed	64	6.74%
Hispanic or Latino	21	2.21%

Template:Col-end As of the 2020 United States census, there were 950 people, 421 households, and 215 families residing in the city.

Education

Heard County School District

The Heard County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school.<ref>Georgia Board of Education Template:Dead link. Retrieved June 19, 2010.</ref> The district has 132 full-time teachers and over 2,278 students.<ref>School Stats. Retrieved June 19, 2010.</ref>

Old Heard County Jail

File:Heard County Jail (Franklin, Georgia).JPG

Old Heard County Jail in 2012

Pauly Jail Company of Alabama built the jail in 1912 for $7,500, using plans by Manly Jail Works of Dalton, Georgia. It replaced an older jail built in 1880 that had become unfit. The jail housed up to 16 prisoners upstairs. The Heard County Sheriff (there were eight sheriffs from 1912 to 1964) and his family lived downstairs. In the 1930s, two prisoners cut the window bars and escaped. Death row prisoners were held here, but the jail's gallows were never used. In 1964, a new county jail opened on the Franklin Square and the old jail closed.

The jail was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 27, 1981. In 1987 it was completely restored by the Heard County Historical Society. It now serves as a museum and historical center. Template:Clear

Gallery

• Franklin Court Square
  Franklin Court Square
• Franklin City Hall
  Franklin City Hall
• Franklin Post Office (ZIP code: 30217)
  Franklin Post Office (ZIP code: 30217)
• Heard County Comprehensive High School
  Heard County Comprehensive High School
• Heard County School System
  Heard County School System

References

<references />

External links

• Franklin Baptist Church historical marker
• Franklin Methodist Church historical marker
• Heard County Jail historical marker