Franklin is a city in Heard County, Georgia, United States. The population was 950 in 2020. Franklin is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Heard County. The city 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 ...
.
History
Franklin was settled in 1770, and was designated seat of the newly formed Heard County in 1831. The town was hit by a
tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...
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.
Geography
Franklin is located in central Heard County at , along the
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River () is a river in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida and Georgia border. It ...
. U.S. Route 27 passes through the east side of the city on a bypass, leading north to Carrollton and south to
LaGrange
Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaGeorgia State Route 34 passes through the center of Franklin, leading northeast to Newnan and southwest to the
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
border. Georgia State Route 100 joins SR 34 for part of its path through Franklin, but leads northwest to
Ephesus
Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...
and southeast 14 miles to Hogansville.
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 ...
, Franklin has a total area of , of which are land and , or 4.00%, are water.
Demographics
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. The district has 132 full-time teachers and over 2,278 students.School Stats Retrieved June 19, 2010.
Old Heard County Jail
Pauly Jail Company of
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
built the jail in 1912 for $7,500, using plans by Manly Jail Works of Dalton,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
. 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
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
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.
Gallery
File:Franklin, Georgia Court Square.JPG, Franklin Court Square
File:Franklin, Georgia City Hall.JPG, Franklin City Hall
File:Franklin, Georgia Post Office (30217).JPG, Franklin Post Office ( ZIP code: 30217)
File:Heard County Comprehensive High School (Franklin, Georgia).JPG, Heard County Comprehensive High School
File:Heard County School System.JPG, Heard County School System