Downtown Franklin has been an historic preservation success story, and most of the time is teeming with shoppers and diners including locals and visitors. VISIT FRANKLIN
tion of Williamson the city began to embrace its past in the late 1960s. Since then, historic tourism has grown to be an economic force. The Cool Springs area began to develop in the late 1980s. CoolSprings Galleria opened in 1991. Since then, commercial, residential and corporate development has continued nonstop. The area is now home to several national headquarters, including Nissan North America and Schneider Electric. Just over 1,500 people lived here in 1870 and the population remained under 10,000 through 1970. It more than doubled between 1990 and 2000, from 20,098 to 41,842. Approximately 78,000 people now call Franklin home and the U.S. Census has ranked Franklin as one of the fastest growing U.S. cities.
G O V ER N M E N T
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
FRANKLIN HIST ORY
The city was founded Oct. 26, 1799 by Abram Maury Jr. who named it after Benjamin Franklin, a close friend of Dr. Hugh Williamson, a Continental Congress member and Williamson County’s namesake. It is the county seat. Prior to the Civil War, Williamson County was one of the state’s wealthiest counties
The Civil War devastated the city’s mostly agrarian economy. The Nov. 30, 1864 Battle of Franklin, one of the war’s bloodiest, saw 8,000 casualties and the deaths of five Confederate generals. Several of the homes and buildings used as hospitals still stand. With the advent of historic preservation and establishment of the Heritage Founda-
The Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen, comprised of an elected mayor, four aldermen elected to represent the city’s four political wards and four elected at large, governs the city. Aldermen serve staggered four-year terms, with the mayor and at-large aldermen elected together and ward aldermen elected two years later. The next municipal election is Oct. 22, 2019 to select the mayor and four at-large aldermen. The board meets at 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month in the City Hall board room, 109 3rd Avenue S., Franklin. Franklin’s mayor is Dr. Ken Moore. City Manager Eric Stuckey oversees the city’s 14 professional departments. Seven of Williamson County’s 12 voting districts -- Districts 2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 -- touch the City of Franklin and each district is represented by two county commissioners. The city falls in State Legislative Districts 63 and 65, State Senate District 23, and U.S. Congressional District 7. To learn which city ward you live in, visit www.franklintn.gov/home. To learn what Williamson County voting district you live in, visit www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/40/Election-Commission or call (615) 790-5711. GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY
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