Franklin is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in New London County,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, United States. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 1,863 at the 2020 census. The town includes the village of North Franklin.

History

Europeans first settled in what would become Franklin in 1663 as part of the larger division of the town of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. The residents of what would become Franklin first petitioned for an ecclesiastical society in 1710, but were denied. Six years later, their petition was granted and they formed the second ecclesiastical society of Norwich, also called the West Farms . During the

First Great Awakening The First Great Awakening, sometimes Great Awakening or the Evangelical Revival, was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affected Pro ...

the society was shaken by controversy, partly over the location of the meetinghouse, but mostly fueled by conflict between the Old and New Lights in the society. The minister, Henry Willes, retired in 1749 as a result and in 1758 permission was granted to the eastern portion of the society to be formed as the Eighth, or Pautipaug, society of Norwich. The boundaries between the two societies would not be set until 1761. The West Farms and Pautipaug societies were incorporated together as the Town of Franklin in 1786. The town is named after

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

. Until 1861 the town's borders extended east to the

Shetucket River The Shetucket River is a tributary of the Thames River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in eastern Connecticut in the United States. It is formed at ...

and included the early village of

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

. That year, the town of Sprague, was incorporated from the towns of Franklin and

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, which gave Franklin its present boundaries.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.36%, is water.

Demographics

At the 2020 census there were 1,863 people, 702 households, and 511 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 729 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 85.9% White, 2.2% African American, 0.0% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 1.8% from other races, and 9.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.6%. Of the 702 households 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.2% were married couples living together. 23.1% of households were the householder living alone and 12.3% of that demographic were aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.06. The age distribution was 23.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 18.9% from 25 to 44, 32.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% 65 or older. The median age was 44.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.6 males. The median household income was $41,845 and the median family income was $91,875. The per capita income for the town was $25,477. About 3.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

Emergency services

Police

Due to the size of Franklin, there is no police department. Instead, the town has a partnership with the Connecticut State Police (Troop K) to provide coverage in case of an emergency.

Fire Department

Franklin's volunteer fire department is led by Chief David Wheeler. The all-volunteer department provides fire, rescue, and emergency services to the town.

Notable locations

* Ashbel Woodward House – built in 1835 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Notable people

* Lafayette S. Foster (1806–1880),

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

and

Connecticut Supreme Court The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit i ...

judge; born in Franklin. * Jacob Kingsbury (1756–1837), Army Officer during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

Northwest Indian War The Northwest Indian War (1785–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native Americans in the United States, Native American na ...

, and

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. * Orsamus H. Marshall (1813–1884), former Chancellor of University of Buffalo * Uriah Tracy (1755–1807), patriot, congressman, U.S. senator, and first person interred in the Congressional Cemetery; born in Franklin. * Ashbel Woodward (1804–1885), medical doctor, historian, and Regimental Surgeon of the 26th Connecticut Infantry Regiment Regiment during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

References

External links

Town of Franklin official websiteAshbel Woodward Museum's official website
{{authority control Towns in New London County, Connecticut Towns in Connecticut Towns in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut