Franklin

Franklin's plaque counts its churches, hotels and public buildings; twice, wind took much of that apart. The Handbook of Texas records a 1913 windstorm that destroyed the town's church buildings and damaged every public building in the county. On the morning of April 13, 2019, an EF3 tornado crossed from Milam County and tore through the south side of Franklin, with peak winds the National Weather Service put at 140 mph. Its path ran nearly 33 miles, on along US 79 and over the Navasota River into Leon County. No one was killed.

What the plaque says

Franklin This community was established in 1872 and named Morgan for a railroad official. Located on the right-of-way of the International Railway Company, the town contained a depot and three stores in its first year. By 1879, the town had 200 residents and voters transferred the county seat from Calvert to Morgan. The community applied for a post office in 1880. Another Texas post office was named Morgan, so the town name was changed to Franklin after the name of the original county seat. A stone courthouse, designed by R. E. Ruffini, was completed in 1882. The town's first newspaper, the Franklin Weekly, was published by J. A. Keigewin. By 1885, Franklin had three hotels, three churches, and two gristmills. Mineral springs attracted visitors to the area for many years. A cemetery was formally established in 1880 at a site where several graves were already in existence. The community's first school building, a frame structure, burned in 1894 and another was erected. The First National Bank of Franklin was chartered in 1905; the First State Bank was established in 1913. A Carnegie Library was built and equipped with an auditorium. By the 1970s Franklin, an incorporated community, had a mayor-council form of city government. (1997)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Calvert — 12 mi
  A railroad cotton town of 1868 on State Highway 6 that claimed the largest cotton gin in the world and elected Black men to county and state office during Reconstruction.

More markers nearby

• Franklin Cemetery — 0.7 mi
• General Walter Washington Williams — 3.7 mi
• New Baden — 3.8 mi
• Site of Owensville — 3.9 mi