Franklin is a city in Heard County, Georgia, United States. The population was 950 in 2020. Franklin is the county seat of Heard County. The city is named after Benjamin Franklin.

History

Franklin was settled in 1770, and was designated seat of the newly formed Heard County in 1831. The town was hit by a tornado just before midnight on March 25, 2021, with multiple areas in downtown being heavily damaged with the most severe damage being rated high-end EF2. The tornado later became violent and hit nearby Newnan, Georgia to the east at EF4 strength, indirectly killing one person.

Geography

Franklin is located in central Heard County at 33.27979°N, -85.0984°W, along the Chattahoochee River. U.S. Route 27 passes through the east side of the city on a bypass, leading north 23 mi to Carrollton and south 19 mi to LaGrange. Georgia State Route 34 passes through the center of Franklin, leading northeast 20 mi to Newnan and southwest 12 mi to the Alabama border. Georgia State Route 100 joins SR 34 for part of its path through Franklin, but leads northwest 14 mi to Ephesus and southeast 14 miles to Hogansville. According to the United States Census Bureau, Franklin has a total area of 9.0 km2, of which 8.7 km2 are land and 0.4 km2, or 4.00%, are water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 950 people, 421 households, and 215 families residing in the city.

Education

Heard County School District

The Heard County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 132 full-time teachers and over 2,278 students.

Old Heard County Jail

Pauly Jail Company of Alabama built the jail in 1912 for $7,500, using plans by Manly Jail Works of Dalton, Georgia. It replaced an older jail built in 1880 that had become unfit. The jail housed up to 16 prisoners upstairs. The Heard County Sheriff (there were eight sheriffs from 1912–1964) and his family lived downstairs. In the 1930s, two prisoners cut the window bars and escaped. Death row prisoners were held here, but the jail's gallows were never used. In 1964, a new county jail opened on the Franklin Square and the old jail closed. The jail was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 27, 1981. In 1987 it was completely restored by the Heard County Historical Society. It now serves as a museum and historical center.

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