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History · Franklin

Franklin’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Franklin. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Franklin is a village in Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 610 at the 2020 census, unchanged from 2010. It is part of the Jacksonville Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 610 people in 2010, 610 in 2020. Half of its homes were built before 1962.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Franklin yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Franklin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Franklin’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Franklin

See all 2 →
William H. HinrichsenWilliam H. HinrichsenPolitics & LawYTYank TandySports
By decade

Franklin, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Franklin is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Franklin has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Woodlawn Farm in Jacksonville, 9.3 miles away.

Franklin and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Franklin. Tap a dot.
Woodlawn FarmGen. Benjamin Henry Grierson HouseJacksonville Labor TempleJacksonville Public LibraryJacksonville Downtown Historic DistrictAyers Bank Building

Closest to Franklin

Woodlawn FarmJacksonville · Building9.3miGen. Benjamin Henry Grierson HouseJacksonville · Building11.8miJacksonville Labor TempleJacksonville · Building12.3miJacksonville Public LibraryJacksonville · Building12.4miJacksonville Downtown Historic DistrictJacksonville · District12.4mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Woodlawn Farm’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Franklin?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Franklin’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Waverly📜 Maxwell📜 Woodson📜 Talkington
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Where to, neighbor?

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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