Franklin, Massachusetts | |
|---|---|
| Town of Franklin | |
 Main Street in 2010 | |
 Seal | |
| Motto: Industry Need Not Wish | |
 Location in Norfolk County in Massachusetts | |
  Franklin, Massachusetts Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates:42°05′N71°24′W / 42.083°N 71.400°W /42.083; -71.400 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Massachusetts |
| County | Norfolk |
| Settled | 1660 |
| Incorporated | 1778 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-manager |
| • Town Administrator | Jamie Hellen |
| Area | |
• Total | 27.03 sq mi (70.00 km2) |
| • Land | 26.64 sq mi (68.99 km2) |
| • Water | 0.39 sq mi (1.01 km2) |
| Elevation | 299 ft (91 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 33,261 |
| • Density | 1,248.6/sq mi (482.08/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP Code | 02038 |
| Area code | 508/774 |
| FIPS code | 25-25100 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0611686 |
| Website | www |
TheTown of Franklin is a city[2] inNorfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Franklin is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalities that have applied for, and been granted, city forms of government but wish to retain "The town of" in their official names.[3] As of 2022, the city's population was 36,745, with a growth rate of 15.38% since 2015. It is home to the country's first public library, theFranklin Public Library with its first books donated byBenjamin Franklin in 1790. It also contains the largest Catholic parish in the Boston Archdiocese, St. Mary's Catholic church, with some 15,000 members.
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Franklin was first settled by Europeans in 1660 and officially incorporated during theAmerican Revolution. The town was formed from the western part of the town ofWrentham, and it was officially incorporated on March 2, 1778; its designated name at incorporation was to be Exeter.[4] However, the town's citizens opted to call it Franklin, in honor of the statesman Benjamin Franklin, the first municipality in the U.S. to be so named.
It was hoped that Benjamin Franklin would donate a bell for a church steeple in the town, but he donated 116 books instead, includingNight-Thoughts,James Janeway'sInvisible Realities, and the works ofJohn Locke.[5] On November 20, 1790, it was decided that the volumes would be lent to the residents of Franklin for free via its library, which has been in operation since then as theFranklin Public Library making this the oldest running public library in the nation. The Ray Memorial Library building was dedicated in 1904. In 1990, on the library's bicentennial, its staff published a booklet, "A History of America's First Public Library at Franklin Massachusetts, 1790 ~ 1990" to commemorate America's firstpublic library and book collection.[6]
The town is also home to the birthplace of America's father ofpublic education,Horace Mann. The town is also home to what may have been the nation's oldest continuously operational one-room school house (Croydon, New Hampshire's school dates to 1780, but there is debate as to whether it is truly "one room"). TheRed Brick School was started in 1792, its building constructed in 1833,[7] and was operational until 2008. St. Mary's Catholic Church, located in central Franklin and built byMatthew Sullivan, is the largest Catholic parish in theBoston Archdiocese with some 15,000 members.
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Franklin is located at42°5′N71°24′W / 42.083°N 71.400°W /42.083; -71.400 (42.0891, –71.4069).[8] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 27.0 square miles (70 km2), of which 26.7 square miles (69 km2) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2) is water.
Much of the Town of Franklin lies within theCharles River watershed. Principal streams include Mine, Shepard's, Miller, Uncas, Dix and Miscoe Brooks. Much of the marshland along Mine Brook has been permanently protected by the Natural Valley Storage Project of theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The extreme southwestern corner of Franklin is part of theBlackstone River watershed. The town has an impounded series of lakes known as the Franklin Reservoir, which is not used as a public drinking water supply. The lakes are now protected open space.[citation needed]
Ernest DelCarte (1911–2000) bequeathed the land that would become the conservation area to the Town of Franklin. The DelCarte family assisted in the transfer to Franklin in return for the town's commitment to preserve the land as open space. Worth an estimated $3 million at the time of the transfer of title, the Recreation and Conservation Area received a multi-million-dollar upgrade in 2014. Significant public forests and parks include the Franklin State and the Franklin Town Forests.[9]
| Climate data for Franklin, MA (1991–2020, coordinates:41°04′45″N71°24′34″W / 41.0792°N 71.4094°W /41.0792; -71.4094) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 3.95 (100) | 3.51 (89) | 4.73 (120) | 4.51 (115) | 3.58 (91) | 4.45 (113) | 3.63 (92) | 3.86 (98) | 4.11 (104) | 4.93 (125) | 4.08 (104) | 4.92 (125) | 50.26 (1,276) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 10.4 (26) | 14.9 (38) | 10.7 (27) | 1.2 (3.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.2 (0.51) | 1.4 (3.6) | 8.9 (23) | 47.7 (121.11) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 10.7 | 9.0 | 10.6 | 11.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 9.9 | 9.3 | 9.0 | 11.3 | 9.8 | 10.8 | 125.3 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.01 in) | 4.5 | 3.8 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 14.5 |
| Source:NOAA[10] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 1,810 | — |
| 1860 | 2,172 | +20.0% |
| 1870 | 2,512 | +15.7% |
| 1880 | 4,051 | +61.3% |
| 1890 | 4,831 | +19.3% |
| 1900 | 5,017 | +3.9% |
| 1910 | 5,641 | +12.4% |
| 1920 | 6,497 | +15.2% |
| 1930 | 7,028 | +8.2% |
| 1940 | 7,303 | +3.9% |
| 1950 | 8,037 | +10.1% |
| 1960 | 10,530 | +31.0% |
| 1970 | 17,830 | +69.3% |
| 1980 | 18,217 | +2.2% |
| 1990 | 22,095 | +21.3% |
| 2000 | 29,560 | +33.8% |
| 2010 | 31,635 | +7.0% |
| 2020 | 33,261 | +5.1% |
| 2024 | 33,742 | +1.4% |
| * = population estimate. Source:United States census records andPopulation Estimates Program data.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Source: U.S. Decennial Census[22] | ||
As of the 2010census,[23][24] there were 31,852 people, 10,866 households, and 7,877 families residing in the town.Thepopulation density was 1,105.4 inhabitants per square mile (426.8/km2). There were 10,327 housing units at an average density of 386.2 per square mile (149.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 92.8 percentWhite, 3.83 percentAsian orPacific Islander, 2.0 percentHispanic orLatino of any race, 1.4 percentBlack orAfrican American, 0.15 percentNative American, 0.29 percent fromother races, and 1.4% from two or more races.
There were 10,866 households, out of which 44.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.4% containedmarried couples living together, 22.4% were non-families, and 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present. 18.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80, the average family size 3.29.
The population includes 28.5% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.
The median household income in the town was $92,066, and the median income for a family was $81,826 (these figures had risen to $89,659 and $101,900, respectively, as of a 2008 estimate)[25]). Men had a median income of $58,888 versus $36,557 for women; theper capita income for the town was $27,849. About 2.2% of families and 3.6% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 2.8% of those under 18 and 5.2% of those 65 or over.
65.5% of Franklin residents claim to be religious, of that 54.2% areCatholic, 3.0% areJewish, 2.2% arePresbyterian, 1.7% areEpiscopalian, while members ofBaptist,Lutheran,Methodist,Buddhist,Pentecostal,Mormon,Hindu,Mennonite, andMuslim faiths make up less than 1.0% of the population each.[26]
The town is represented in theMassachusetts General Court by RepresentativeJeffrey Roy of the10th Norfolk district and SenatorBecca Rausch of theNorfolk, Worcester and Middlesex district.
The Town is located inMassachusetts's 4th congressional district and is currently represented byJake Auchincloss.[27]
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The Franklin Public Schools have five elementary schools serving K–5, 4 middle schools serving 6-8, and 1 high school serving 9–12. There is one charter school (grades K–8).
Elementary Schools K–5:
Middle Schools 6-8:
High Schools 9–12:
The Town of Franklin is also home toDean College, founded in 1865, a private residential college with over 1,100 students. The college grantsassociate degrees in a number of subjects (98% of the students are accepted for transfer to four-year schools) and also offersbachelor's programs in Arts and Entertainment Management, Psychology, Sociology, History, English, Business, Marketing, Criminal Justice and Homeland Security Management, Sport Management, Sport Fitness, Recreation and Coaching, Dance, Liberal Arts & Studies, and Theater.
As noted,the Franklin Public Library is the first public library in America,[29] the original books of which were donated by Benjamin Franklin. Across the street from the library is Dean College.
At one end of Franklin's Historic District is the little Red Brick School. Its classroom, believed to be one of the oldest public schools in the United States, but is not still functioning, celebrated its 175th birthday in 2008.
Franklin has two exits alongI-495, atRoute 140 and King Street.MBTA Commuter Rail service on theFranklin/Foxboro Line stops atForge Park/495 andFranklin.[30][31] Franklin is part of theGreater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA) service region. It is served bydemand-responsive transit.
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Places adjacent to Franklin, Massachusetts | |
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Municipalities and communities ofNorfolk County, Massachusetts,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other villages | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
