Franklin County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,889. Its

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 ...

is Franklin. The county was formed in 1867 and organized in 1871. It was named for

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 ...

. In the Nebraska license plate system, Franklin County is represented by the prefix 50 (it had the 50th-largest number of vehicles registered in the county when the license plate system was established in 1922).

History

The settlement of Franklin County began after General Eugene Carr’s 1869 Republican River Expedition subdued the

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

in the area. In Organized settlements appeared starting in 1870, with the Thompson Colony establishing Riverton along Thompson Creek in September, followed by the Republican Land and Claim Association (also called the Knight Colony) founding Franklin on November 25. Franklin County was officially established on March 3, 1871, by Governor David Butler’s proclamation, with Franklin as the initial county seat. In 1872, however, the Plattsmouth Town Company founded Waterloo (later Bloomington) a mile east, igniting a fierce contest for the county seat. An 1872 election favored Bloomington, but irregularities culminating in the 1874 theft of county records by Bloomington supporters delayed the shift until Bloomington, bolstered by its designation as a U.S. Land Office site, prevailed in another election later that year. The arrival of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad in Franklin in 1879 drove population growth in the county from a handful of settlers in 1870 to over 5,000 by 1882. The first schoolhouse opened in Franklin in 1872, followed by the Franklin Academy in 1881. Religious life took root with the Methodist Episcopal Church organizing in Franklin in 1872, while commerce grew with the county’s first newspaper, the ''Franklin County Guardsman'', launched in 1874 by H.W. Fallaws. By the early 20th century, Franklin had emerged as a more prosperous and centrally located town than Bloomington. The issue came to a head in 1920 when Franklin petitioned for a new county seat election. On November 2, 1920, voters overwhelmingly favored moving the seat back to Franklin, finally ending the county seat dispute.^:377

Geography

Franklin County lies on the south line of Nebraska. Its south boundary line abuts the north boundary line of the state of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. The Republican River flows eastward through the southern part of Franklin County. According to the

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

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.03%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 136 * N-4

Nebraska Highway 4 * N-10

Nebraska Highway 10 * N-44

Nebraska Highway 44

Adjacent counties

* Kearney County - north * Webster County - east *

Smith County, Kansas Smith County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Smith Center. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,570. The county is named in memory of J. Nelson Smith, a major in the 2nd Colorado Cavalry, killed ...

- southeast *

Phillips County, Kansas Phillips County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Phillipsburg. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 4,981. The county was named after William Phillips, a free-state abolition ...

- southwest * Harlan County - west * Phelps County - northwest

Demographics

As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 3,574 people, 1,485 households, and 1,021 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,746 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 99.24%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.28% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.34% from two or more races. 0.64% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 63.5% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 6.8% American, 6.6% English and 5.7% Irish ancestry. There were 1,485 households, out of which 28.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.40% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.20% were non-families. 29.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.87. The county population contained 24.50% under the age of 18, 4.50% from 18 to 24, 23.60% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 23.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 92.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,304, and the median income for a family was $34,958. Males had a median income of $26,192 versus $18,214 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $15,390. About 9.70% of families and 13.20% 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 ...

, including 17.20% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

* Franklin

Villages

* Bloomington * Campbell * Hildreth * Naponee * Riverton * Upland

Unincorporated community

* Macon''Macon NE'' Google Maps (accessed 20 January 2019)
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Politics

Franklin County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).

References

External links

{{authority control Nebraska counties 1871 establishments in Nebraska Populated places established in 1871