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Franklin County
Franklin County
County
	Franklin County Courthouse in Winchester
	Flag Seal
	Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
	Tennessee's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 35°09′N 86°06′W / 35.15°N 86.1°W
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	1807
Named for	Benjamin Franklin
Seat	Winchester
Largest city	Winchester
Area
• Total	576 sq mi (1,490 km2)
• Land	555 sq mi (1,440 km2)
• Water	21 sq mi (50 km2) 3.7%
Population (2020)
• Total	42,774
• Density	74/sq mi (29/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th
Website	franklincotn.us

Franklin County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located on the eastern boundary of Middle Tennessee in the southern part of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,774.^[1] Its county seat is Winchester.^[2] Franklin County was formerly part of the Tullahoma-Manchester, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area, it was removed in 2023 and is part of the Winchester Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

White settlement began around 1800, and the county was formally organized in 1807 and named for Benjamin Franklin.^[3]^[4] During the next several decades, the size of the county was reduced several times by reorganizations which created the neighboring counties of Coffee County, Moore County, and Grundy County. One of the most notable early settlers was frontiersman Davy Crockett, who came about 1812 but is not thought to have remained long.^[3]

The University of the South, founded by the Episcopal Church, was organized just before the Civil War. It began full operations shortly after hostilities ceased. It encompasses a full university and theological seminary. The University of Tennessee Space Institute is also located in the county.

The area became strongly secessionist before the war. Franklin County formally threatened to secede from Tennessee and join Alabama if Tennessee did not leave the union, which the state did when forced to take sides by Abraham Lincoln.^[3] This contrasted sharply with the situation in not distant Winston County, Alabama, which was largely pro-Union and provided more volunteers for the Union than the Confederacy.

During 1863, the Army of Tennessee retreated through the county, leaving it more or less under Union control for the rest of the war, although some guerrilla warfare still took place. Isham G. Harris, the Confederate governor of Tennessee, was from Franklin County. After having his political rights restored after the war, he was chosen to represent the state in the United States Senate.

During the temperance (anti-liquor) agitations of the late 19th century, residents discovered that by a quirk of state law, liquor could be sold only in incorporated towns. As a result, all of the county's towns abolished their charters in order to prohibit the sale of alcohol.^[3]

In the 20th century, Franklin County benefited from the flood control and power generation activities of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), built by the President Franklin D. Roosevelt administration during the Great Depression. The TVA helped bring new industry to the area. It also created opportunities for water recreation by making new lakes, but at the same time also displaced many county residents from their soon to be submerged homes. The establishment of the federal Arnold Engineering Development Center, which is partly within the county, helped spur economic growth and technical development. The interstate highway system barely touched the county, but it did provide valuable access on Interstate 24 to nearby Chattanooga.

Two notable figures who were born in the county early in the twentieth century were singer/entertainer Dinah Shore and entrepreneur/philanthropist John Templeton. He later became a British subject and was awarded a knighthood.

During the last decades of the 19th and the first of the 20th, Tennessee, like other southern states, passed laws and constitutional amendments establishing Jim Crow: racial segregation in public facilities, restrictions of voting for blacks, and similar measures. There were few violent disturbances in Franklin County compared to many other localities, but it was not until a decade after the historic Brown v. Board of Education court decision that the county's schools were desegregated in 1964 when a lawsuit was won in Sewanee, Tennessee.

Considerable industrial growth occurred in the county in the last decades of the 20th century, including the construction of a large automobile engine plant by the Nissan corporation in Decherd. An emphasis on tourism also developed, based on Civil War history and local scenic attractions such as the dogwood forests, for which an annual festival is held.

Geography

US 41A approaching the Cumberland Plateau near Cowan

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 576 square miles (1,490 km²), of which 555 square miles (1,440 km²) is land and 21 square miles (54 km²) (3.7%) is water.^[5]

Franklin is one of Tennessee's southern tier of counties and abuts the Alabama border. It has a varied geography, extending from the southeast corner of the Nashville Basin over the Highland Rim and up onto the Cumberland Plateau, for a difference in elevation of about 1,300 feet (400 m). The county is well watered and forested, and except for the steeper areas of the plateau is well suited for agriculture, having a long growing season and mild winters.

Sewanee Natural Bridge is a 25 feet (7.6 m) high natural sandstone arch with a span of 50 feet (15 m).

Lost Cove Cave, located near Sherwood, is in the Carter State Natural Area. One of its entrances is known as the Buggytop Cave Entrance and another entrance is known as the Peter Cave Entrance. The Buggytop Entrance is 100 feet (30 m) wide and 80 feet (24 m) high and opens at the base of an overhanging bluff 150 feet (46 m) high. The cave stream cascades down from the mouth and drops 40 feet (12 m) in less than 100 yards (91 m).^[6]

Adjacent counties

Coffee County (north)
Grundy County (northeast)
Marion County (east)
Jackson County, Alabama (south)
Madison County, Alabama (southwest)
Lincoln County (west)
Moore County (northwest)

State protected areas

Bear Hollow Wildlife Management Area
Carter State Natural Area
Franklin State Forest (part)
Hawkins Cove State Natural Area
Mingo Swamp Wildlife Management Area
Natural Bridge State Natural Area
Owl Hollow Mill Wildlife Management Area
South Cumberland State Park (part)
Tims Ford State Park
Walls of Jericho State Natural Area

Other protected areas

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1810	5,730	—
1820	16,571	189.2%
1830	15,620	−5.7%
1840	12,033	−23.0%
1850	13,768	14.4%
1860	13,848	0.6%
1870	14,970	8.1%
1880	17,178	14.7%
1890	18,929	10.2%
1900	20,392	7.7%
1910	20,491	0.5%
1920	20,641	0.7%
1930	21,796	5.6%
1940	23,892	9.6%
1950	25,431	6.4%
1960	25,528	0.4%
1970	27,244	6.7%
1980	31,983	17.4%
1990	34,725	8.6%
2000	39,270	13.1%
2010	41,052	4.5%
2020	42,774	4.2%
U.S. Decennial Census^[7] 1790-1960^[8] 1900-1990^[9] 1990-2000^[10] 2010-2014^[11]

2020 census

Franklin County racial composition^[13]
Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	36,864	86.18%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	1,962	4.59%
Native American	117	0.27%
Asian	348	0.81%
Pacific Islander	17	0.04%
Other/Mixed	1,964	4.59%
Hispanic or Latino	1,502	3.51%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 42,774 people, 16,326 households, and 11,197 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the census^[14] of 2000, there were 39,270 people, 15,003 households, and 11,162 families residing in the county. The population density was 71 inhabitants per square mile (27/km²).

There were 16,813 housing units at an average density of 30 per square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.20% White or European American, 5.49% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. 1.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.00% under the age of 18, 10.90% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,044, and the median income for a family was $42,279. Males had a median income of $31,506 versus $21,479 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,987. About 9.60% of families and 13.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.00% of those under age 18 and 13.00% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Unincorporated communities

Notable people

Stephen Adams (1807–1857), United States Senator and Representative^[15]
James Patton Anderson, (1822–1873), born in Franklin County, Confederate Army general ^[15]
Jimmy Bedford (1940–2009), sixth master distiller at Jack Daniel's.^[16]
Phillip Fulmer (b. 1950), former head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers football team
Bernie Moore (1895–1967), commissioner of the Southeastern Conference
Dinah Shore (1916–1994), singer, actress, and television celebrity
John Templeton (1912–2008), investor and philanthropist
Jauan Jennings (b. 1997), Wide Receiver for the San Francisco 49ers
Shirley Majors (1913-1981), former head coach of The Sewanee Tigers football team

Politics

Franklin County has become a Republican stronghold in recent years. The last Democrat to carry this county was Al Gore in 2000. Prior to 2004, the only Republican to win the county in a 20th-century presidential election was Richard Nixon in 1972.

United States presidential election results for Franklin County, Tennessee^[17]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	15,016	75.96%	4,529	22.91%	224	1.13%
2020	13,987	73.11%	4,864	25.42%	281	1.47%
2016	11,532	70.30%	4,374	26.66%	498	3.04%
2012	10,262	63.66%	5,603	34.76%	254	1.58%
2008	10,539	60.46%	6,613	37.94%	280	1.61%
2004	9,129	53.46%	7,800	45.68%	148	0.87%
2000	6,560	44.65%	7,828	53.28%	303	2.06%
1996	5,296	39.58%	6,929	51.79%	1,154	8.63%
1992	4,507	31.79%	7,773	54.83%	1,896	13.37%
1988	5,381	49.43%	5,442	49.99%	63	0.58%
1984	5,705	49.09%	5,846	50.31%	70	0.60%
1980	3,995	36.02%	6,760	60.96%	335	3.02%
1976	2,619	27.50%	6,788	71.27%	117	1.23%
1972	4,136	57.51%	2,896	40.27%	160	2.22%
1968	1,700	18.62%	2,489	27.27%	4,939	54.11%
1964	2,262	27.28%	6,029	72.72%	0	0.00%
1960	2,041	28.59%	5,041	70.61%	57	0.80%
1956	1,727	26.19%	4,791	72.65%	77	1.17%
1952	2,015	29.48%	4,786	70.03%	33	0.48%
1948	589	13.20%	2,948	66.08%	924	20.71%
1944	600	13.12%	3,958	86.55%	15	0.33%
1940	569	11.63%	4,312	88.13%	12	0.25%
1936	519	12.76%	3,534	86.92%	13	0.32%
1932	360	10.54%	3,029	88.65%	28	0.82%
1928	928	35.26%	1,698	64.51%	6	0.23%
1924	707	24.92%	2,072	73.03%	58	2.04%
1920	1,558	30.77%	3,504	69.19%	2	0.04%
1916	711	21.98%	2,469	76.32%	55	1.70%
1912	370	13.51%	2,172	79.33%	196	7.16%

References

^ "Census - Geography Profile: Franklin County, Tennessee". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d John Abernathy Smith, "Franklin County," Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved: June 28, 2013.
^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 131.
^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
^ Barr, Thomas C. (1961). Caves of Tennessee. Bulletin 64 of the Tennessee Division of Geology. pp. 195–197.
^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
^ Based on 2000 census data
^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
^ ^a ^b Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.
^ Hevesi, Dennis. "Jimmy Bedford, Guardian of Jack Daniel’s, Dies at 69", The New York Times, August 10, 2009. Accessed August 11, 2009.
^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved February 20, 2021.