Franklin County, Virginia | |
|---|---|
 Franklin County Courthouse in May 2010 | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofVirginia | |
 Virginia's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:36°59′N79°53′W / 36.99°N 79.88°W /36.99; -79.88 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Virginia |
| Founded | 1785 |
| Named after | Benjamin Franklin |
| Seat | Rocky Mount |
| Largest town | Rocky Mount |
| Area | |
• Total | 712 sq mi (1,840 km2) |
| • Land | 690 sq mi (1,800 km2) |
| • Water | 21 sq mi (54 km2) 3.0% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 54,477 |
| • Density | 77/sq mi (30/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 9th |
| Website | www |
Franklin County is acounty located in theBlue Ridge foothills of theCommonwealth ofVirginia, United States. As of the2020 census, the population was 54,477.[1] Itscounty seat isRocky Mount.[2] Franklin County is part of theRoanoke metropolitan area and is located in theRoanoke Region of Virginia.[3] TheRoanoke River forms its northeast boundary withBedford County.
The Blue Ridge Foothills had long been inhabited byNative Americans. At the time of European encounter, mostlySiouan-speaking tribes lived in this area.
A few colonists moved into the area before theAmerican Revolutionary War, but most settlement happened afterward, as people moved west seeking new lands. Cultivation of tobacco had exhausted soils in the eastern part of the state. The county was formed in 1785 from parts ofBedford andHenry counties. It was named forBenjamin Franklin.[4] The Piedmont and backcountry areas were largely settled by Scots-Irish, who were the last major immigrant group from the British Isles to enter the colonies before the Revolutionary War. There were also migrants from coastal areas, includingfree people of color, who moved to the frontier to escape racial strictures associated with the slave society of Tidewater Virginia.[5]
In the 20th century duringProhibition, local wits named Franklin County the "Moonshine Capital of the World", as moonshine production and bootlegging drove the economy. As of 2000, the localchamber of commerce had adopted the title as a heritage identification for the area. Moonshine is still being made in the area.[6]
Historians estimate that in the 1920s, 99 of every 100 Franklin County residents were in some way involved in the illegal liquor trade.[7] The bootleggers became involved with gangsters from Chicago and other major cities, and some local law enforcement officials were part of the criminal activities and killing of competitors.[8] "Between 1930 and 1935 local still operators and their business partners sold a volume of whiskey that would have generated $5,500,000 in excise taxes at the old 1920 tax rate."[8]
A lengthy federal investigation resulted in indictments and trials for 34 suspects in 1935 for what was called the "Great Moonshine Conspiracy," which attracted national attention. The writerSherwood Anderson was among the many outsiders who came to cover the trial. At what was then the longest trial in state history, 31 people were convicted, but their jail sentences were relatively light (two years or less). Thirteen conspirators were sentenced only to probation.[8]
This period has recently received new attention by writers. T. Keister Greer's historyThe Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1935 (2002) covered the trial and its background in the county.[9] The writerMatt Bondurant had ancestors in the area, whose exploits during this period inspired his historical novel,The Wettest County in the World (2008). (The title was based on a statement by Anderson.) The book was adapted as a film,Lawless, in 2012. In 2014 an historical novel with much history about the county and town came out: "Moonshine Corner, Keys to Rocky Mount,"ISBN 9781500980115, by the widow of T. Keister Greer, Ibby Greer.
Since the 1980s, much residential development has occurred aroundSmith Mountain Lake. People live there who commute to work in the urbanized areas ofRoanoke,Lynchburg,Martinsville, andDanville. Retirees have also moved in, and both groups have increased the county's population.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 712 square miles (1,840 km2), of which 690 square miles (1,800 km2) is land and 21 square miles (54 km2) (3.0%) is water.[10] It is upriver of thefall line of the Roanoke River, located atRoanoke Rapids, North Carolina.
The county is divided into supervisor districts; a few are: Blackwater, Blue Ridge, Boones Mill, Gills Creek, Rocky Mount, Snow Creek, Union Hall, Ferrum, Glade Hill, Penhook, and Callaway
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1790 | 6,842 | — | |
| 1800 | 9,302 | 36.0% | |
| 1810 | 10,724 | 15.3% | |
| 1820 | 12,017 | 12.1% | |
| 1830 | 14,911 | 24.1% | |
| 1840 | 15,832 | 6.2% | |
| 1850 | 17,430 | 10.1% | |
| 1860 | 20,098 | 15.3% | |
| 1870 | 18,264 | −9.1% | |
| 1880 | 25,084 | 37.3% | |
| 1890 | 24,985 | −0.4% | |
| 1900 | 25,953 | 3.9% | |
| 1910 | 26,480 | 2.0% | |
| 1920 | 26,283 | −0.7% | |
| 1930 | 24,337 | −7.4% | |
| 1940 | 25,864 | 6.3% | |
| 1950 | 24,560 | −5.0% | |
| 1960 | 25,925 | 5.6% | |
| 1970 | 26,858 | 3.6% | |
| 1980 | 35,740 | 33.1% | |
| 1990 | 39,549 | 10.7% | |
| 2000 | 47,286 | 19.6% | |
| 2010 | 56,159 | 18.8% | |
| 2020 | 54,477 | −3.0% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[11] 1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13] 1990-2000[14] 2010[15] 2020[16] | |||
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2010[15] | Pop 2020[16] | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 49,072 | 46,218 | 87.38% | 84.84% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 4,541 | 3,848 | 8.09% | 7.06% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 112 | 75 | 0.20% | 0.14% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 251 | 303 | 0.45% | 0.56% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 10 | 20 | 0.02% | 0.04% |
| Some Other Race alone (NH) | 144 | 153 | 0.26% | 0.28% |
| Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH) | 605 | 1,905 | 1.08% | 3.50% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1,424 | 1,955 | 2.54% | 3.59% |
| Total | 56,159 | 54,477 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of thecensus[17] of 2000, there were 47,286 people, 18,963 households, and 13,918 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 68 people per square mile (26 people/km2). There were 22,717 housing units at an average density of 33 units per square mile (13 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 88.95%White, 9.35%Black orAfrican American, 0.19%Native American, 0.36%Asian, 0.02%Pacific Islander, 0.42% fromother races, and 0.71% from two or more races. 1.21% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 18,963 households, out of which 29.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.10% weremarried couples living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.60% were non-families. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.20% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 27.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $38,056, and the median income for a family was $45,163. Males had a median income of $29,807 versus $22,215 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $19,605. About 7.30% of families and 9.70% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 12.70% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over.
Franklin is represented by RepublicansDavid Suetterlein andBill Stanley in the Virginia Senate, RepublicansWren Williams andKathy Byron in the Virginia House of Delegates, andMorgan Griffith in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Franklin County Public Schools operates public schools serving the county. The school system includes 12 elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.
Middle School -Benjamin Franklin Middle School(BFMS), VA
High School -Franklin County High School(FCHS), VA
About four miles outside ofCallaway is thePhoebe Needles Mission School, an Episcopal mission school dating from 1907. The school and mission church were used to serve the rural and mountain children of the county who could not get to the public schools in Callaway, Ferrum, or Rocky Mount. The school has now become a church parish, Center for Lifelong Learning and summer camp operated by theEpiscopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia.
Ferrum College was established in 1913. Ferrum College offers bachelor's degrees in twenty-eight major degree programs. The college continues to operate under the auspices of the Virginia Annual Conference of theUnited Methodist Church and the United Methodist Women of the Virginia Annual Conference.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1912 | 415 | 18.35% | 1,238 | 54.73% | 609 | 26.92% |
| 1916 | 1,094 | 42.37% | 1,481 | 57.36% | 7 | 0.27% |
| 1920 | 1,381 | 43.83% | 1,765 | 56.01% | 5 | 0.16% |
| 1924 | 1,077 | 35.98% | 1,902 | 63.55% | 14 | 0.47% |
| 1928 | 1,529 | 45.10% | 1,861 | 54.90% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1932 | 812 | 26.39% | 2,245 | 72.96% | 20 | 0.65% |
| 1936 | 975 | 29.80% | 2,285 | 69.83% | 12 | 0.37% |
| 1940 | 925 | 31.17% | 2,037 | 68.63% | 6 | 0.20% |
| 1944 | 1,206 | 37.41% | 2,002 | 62.10% | 16 | 0.50% |
| 1948 | 1,100 | 39.10% | 1,343 | 47.74% | 370 | 13.15% |
| 1952 | 1,976 | 49.08% | 2,012 | 49.98% | 38 | 0.94% |
| 1956 | 2,125 | 48.81% | 2,142 | 49.20% | 87 | 2.00% |
| 1960 | 2,080 | 41.47% | 2,924 | 58.29% | 12 | 0.24% |
| 1964 | 2,279 | 39.72% | 3,447 | 60.08% | 11 | 0.19% |
| 1968 | 3,036 | 36.54% | 2,025 | 24.37% | 3,247 | 39.08% |
| 1972 | 4,674 | 65.74% | 2,273 | 31.97% | 163 | 2.29% |
| 1976 | 3,532 | 34.63% | 6,439 | 63.13% | 228 | 2.24% |
| 1980 | 4,993 | 45.02% | 5,685 | 51.26% | 412 | 3.72% |
| 1984 | 7,684 | 60.21% | 4,903 | 38.42% | 175 | 1.37% |
| 1988 | 7,391 | 55.73% | 5,734 | 43.24% | 136 | 1.03% |
| 1992 | 6,724 | 42.83% | 6,590 | 41.97% | 2,387 | 15.20% |
| 1996 | 7,382 | 43.46% | 7,300 | 42.97% | 2,305 | 13.57% |
| 2000 | 11,225 | 59.62% | 7,145 | 37.95% | 459 | 2.44% |
| 2004 | 14,048 | 63.21% | 8,002 | 36.01% | 173 | 0.78% |
| 2008 | 15,414 | 60.68% | 9,618 | 37.86% | 369 | 1.45% |
| 2012 | 16,718 | 62.60% | 9,090 | 34.04% | 899 | 3.37% |
| 2016 | 18,569 | 68.85% | 7,257 | 26.91% | 1,145 | 4.25% |
| 2020 | 20,895 | 70.35% | 8,381 | 28.22% | 426 | 1.43% |
| 2024 | 22,319 | 71.95% | 8,321 | 26.82% | 380 | 1.23% |
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Places adjacent to Franklin County, Virginia | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofFranklin County, Virginia,United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
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