Franklin, Franklin County, New York

This article is about the town in Franklin County. For the town in Delaware County, see Franklin (town), New York.

Franklin, New York
Town
Franklin Falls in the Spring
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Franklin
Government
• Type	Town Council
• Town Supervisor	Arthur P. Willman, Jr. (R)
• Town Council	Members' List • Clifford Smalley (D) • Allen Berg (R) • Donald M. Hamm (R) • Bradley L. Merrill (R)
Area
• Total	175.2 sq mi (453.8 km2)
• Land	170.2 sq mi (440.9 km2)
• Water	5.0 sq mi (12.9 km2)
Elevation	1,693 ft (516 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	1,197
• Density	7.0/sq mi (2.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
FIPS code	36-27243
GNIS feature ID	0978971

Franklin is a town located in Franklin County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 1,197.

The Town of Franklin is in southeast part of the county, southeast of the Village of Malone (the county seat). Franklin is in the Adirondack Region of New York State.

History

The first settlement in the town was Franklin Falls (1827). This community burned in 1852.

The Town of Franklin was founded in 1836 from part of the Town of Bellmont.

The town was used to relocate former slaves, in part the work of Gerrit Smith, an abolitionist, and in part the result of Civil War veterans inviting freed slaves to return home with them.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 175.2 square miles (454 km²), of which, 170.2 square miles (441 km²) of it is land and 5.0 square miles (13 km²) of it (2.84%) is water.

The Town of Franklin is the third largest town in Franklin County. Franklin is in the Adirondack Park.

The east town line is the border of Clinton County and the south town line is the border of Essex County.

The Saranac River flows through the southeast corner of the town.

New York State Route 3 runs diagonally from southwest to northeast across Franklin.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,197 people, 473 households, and 324 families residing in the town. The population density was 7.0 people per square mile (2.7/km²). There were 982 housing units at an average density of 5.8 per square mile (2.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.08% White, 0.50% African American, 1.34% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population.

There were 473 households out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 102.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $40,598, and the median income for a family was $46,250. Males had a median income of $32,000 versus $23,472 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,955. About 5.0% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Franklin

• Alder Brook – A hamlet in the eastern part of the town, southeast of Sugarbush.
• Franklin Falls – A hamlet in the southeast corner of the town on County Road 48, previously known as "McLenathan Falls."
• Forestdale – A hamlet in the southeast corner of the town, east of Franklin Falls.
• Goldsmith – A hamlet in the eastern part of the town, located north of Sugarbush.
• Hunters Home – A former location in the town in its northeast corner.
• Lake Kushaqua – A small lake near the state campground at Buck Pond.
• Loon Lake – A lake in the central part of the town by County Road 26.
• Loon Lake – A hamlet on the east side of Loon Lake, located on County Road 26.
• Merrillsville – A hamlet near the town center, southeast of Loon Lake on County Road 26.
• Molasses Corners – A location on the north side of Loon Lake on County Road 26.
• Onchiota – A hamlet in the southwest part of the town on County Road 60.
• Rainbow Lake – A lake and hamlet partly in the west side of the town.
• Sugarbush – A hamlet on NY-3 near the east town line.
• Two Brooks – A hamlet near the east town line, north of Sugarbush.
• Union Falls – A hamlet at the east town line, mostly in Clinton County.
• Union Falls Pond – A lake north of Franklin Falls in the southeast part of the town.
• Vermontville – A hamlet and seat of the town government. It is located near the south town line on NY-3. The name stems from many of the early settlers being from Vermont.
• White Fathers – A location southwest of Loon Lake, on Lake Kushaqua, now a ghost town. The name derives from the White Fathers of Africa, a Catholic missionary group, that bought the Stony Wold Sanitarium and opened a Seminary to train priests there in the late 1950s or early 1960s. The Seminary was operated until the very early 1970s as well as a "family camp" called Camp Lavigerie in the summers.

External links

• Town of Franklin, NY
• Early Town of Franklin history