About Franklin
Franklin is the county seat of Franklin County, on Nebraska's southern border. U.S. Highway 136, the Heritage Highway, runs through town and meets Nebraska Highway 10 near the centre of Franklin. The population was 941 at the 2020 census, down from 1,000 in 2010. The town sits at about 1,860 feet above sea level and covers roughly one square mile.
History
Settlement began in 1870 under a land speculation company, and the town was founded in the 1870s. It was named after Benjamin Franklin, as was the county. Franklin was designated county seat in 1871, lost the designation to Bloomington during a long dispute, and regained it in 1920. The railroad arrived in 1879 and the city incorporated in 1883.
Franklin Academy
Franklin Academy opened in 1881 as one of six Congregational preparatory schools in Nebraska. Dupee Music Hall, built in 1902, is the only Academy building still standing. The Franklin County Museum was established in 1932.
People
Frank W. Cyr, credited as the father of the yellow school bus, was born in Franklin. The major league pitcher Clarence Mitchell was from here. Former Governor Ashton Shallenberger died in Franklin on 22 February 1938, collapsing while giving a speech.
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Franklin is the seat of Franklin County, founded in 1870 by settlers known as the "Knight Colony" near the Republican River and named, like the county itself, for Benjamin Franklin. The town's status as county seat has a genuinely three-act history: Franklin was named the original seat when the county organized in 1871, lost that status to nearby Bloomington by a countywide vote in 1874, and won it back for good in 1920. Franklin is home to the Franklin County Courthouse, built in 1925 in the Classical Revival style and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Former Nebraska Governor Ashton C. Shallenberger died in Franklin while delivering a speech on February 22, 1938. The town is also the childhood home of Frank W. Cyr, known as the "Father of the Yellow School Bus" for standardizing U.S. school bus specifications, including their distinctive color, at a 1939 conference. With a 2020 population of 941, Franklin remains the county's largest community and its agricultural trade center.
As the county seat since 1920, following its earlier 1871-1874 stint and Bloomington's intervening 46 years, Franklin anchors the county's civic and commercial life, with its historic courthouse and namesake tie to Benjamin Franklin giving it a strong identity as the administrative center. Its connection to the ubiquitous yellow school bus, through native son Frank W. Cyr, is an unusually memorable piece of small-town trivia.