Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Franklin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Franklin and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Franklin
- Astronomy & Satellites ...
- Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
- To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Franklin:
- 42.522336, -83.305799
- Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Franklin
- Bird Watching ...
- We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
- The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Oakland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Oakland County
- Since Franklin is near Wayne County and also Macomb County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Wayne County
- eBird sighting report for Macomb County
- Waymarking ...
- Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Franklin ...
We found 86 communities that share the name Franklin.
There are two communities within Michigan that are also named Franklin.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another 80 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 80 communities, 79 are located in the United States and five are in Canada.
In addition to the above occurrences of Franklin, we know of four communities located outside of the United States and Canada.
- Communities Located In Michigan ...
- Houghton County
- Kent County
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Macon County
- This Franklin is located in Macon County and lies 708 miles [1,139.4 km]<2> to the south southwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Macon County community of Franklin.
- Monroe County
- This Franklin is located in Monroe County and lies 779 miles [1,253.7 km] to the south southwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monroe County community of Franklin.
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Los Angeles County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Franklin [Los Angeles County].
- Napa County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Franklin [Napa County].
- Sacramento County
- This Franklin is located in Sacramento County and lies 2,007 miles [3,230 km]<2> to the west of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sacramento County community of Franklin.
- San Joaquin County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Franklin [San Joaquin County].
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Ada County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Idaho community of Franklin [Ada County].
- Franklin County
- This Franklin is located in Franklin County and lies 1,449 miles [2,331.9 km]<2> to the west of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Franklin.
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Johnson County
- This Franklin is located in Johnson County and lies 253 miles [407.2 km]<2> to the southwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Johnson County community of Franklin.
- Wayne County
- This Franklin is located in Wayne County and lies 201 miles [323.5 km] to the south southwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wayne County community of Franklin.
- Iowa
- Jasper County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Iowa community of Franklin [Jasper County].
- Lee County
- This Franklin is located in Lee County and lies 442 miles [711.3 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lee County community of Franklin.
- Pottawattamie County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Iowa community of Franklin [Pottawattamie County].
- Kansas
- Crawford County
- This Franklin is located in Crawford County and lies 693 miles [1,115.3 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Crawford County community of Franklin.
- Douglas County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Franklin [Douglas County].
- Kentucky
- Clark County
- This Franklin is located in Clark County and lies 316 miles [508.6 km]<2> to the south of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clark County community of Franklin.
- Simpson County
- This Franklin is located in Simpson County and lies 435 miles [700.1 km] to the south southwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Simpson County community of Franklin.
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Manitoba
- This Franklin lies 940 miles [1,512.8 km]<2> to the northwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- Maryland
- Allegany County
- This Franklin is located in Allegany County and lies 304 miles [489.2 km]<2> to the southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Allegany County community of Franklin.
- Baltimore City
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Maryland community of Franklin [Baltimore City].
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Renville County
- This Franklin is located in Renville County and lies 595 miles [957.6 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Renville County community of Franklin.
- Saint Louis County
- This Franklin is located in Saint Louis County and lies 566 miles [910.9 km] to the northwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Louis County community of Franklin.
- Mississippi
- Franklin County
- This Franklin is located in Franklin County and lies 877 miles [1,411.4 km]<2> to the south southwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Franklin.
- Holmes County
- This Franklin is located in Holmes County and lies 749 miles [1,205.4 km] to the south southwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Holmes County community of Franklin.
- Missouri
- Montana
- Custer County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Montana community of Franklin [Custer County].
- Golden Valley County
- This Franklin is located in Golden Valley County and lies 1,300 miles [2,092.1 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Golden Valley County community of Franklin.
- Nebraska
- Franklin County
- This Franklin is located in Franklin County and lies 827 miles [1,330.9 km]<2> to the west of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Franklin.
- Richardson County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Richardson County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Richardson County community of Franklin.
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- Essex County
- This Franklin is located in Essex County and lies 478 miles [769.3 km]<2> to the east of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Essex County community of Franklin.
- Hunterdon County
- This Franklin is located in Hunterdon County and lies 452 miles [727.4 km] to the east southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hunterdon County community of Franklin.
- Morris County
- This Franklin is located in Morris County and lies 467 miles [751.6 km] to the east southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Morris County community of Franklin.
- Sussex County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New Jersey community of Franklin [Sussex County].
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Macon County
- This Franklin is located in Macon County and lies 506 miles [814.3 km]<2> to the south of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Macon County community of Franklin.
- Rowan County
- This Franklin is located in Rowan County and lies 493 miles [793.4 km] to the south southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rowan County community of Franklin.
- Surry County
- This Franklin is located in Surry County and lies 440 miles [708.1 km] to the south southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Surry County community of Franklin.
- Ohio
- Belmont County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Franklin [Belmont County].
- Coshocton County
- This Franklin is located in Coshocton County and lies 175 miles [281.6 km]<2> to the south southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Coshocton County community of Franklin.
- Ross County
- This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Franklin [Ross County].
- Warren County
- This Franklin is located in Warren County and lies 211 miles [339.6 km] to the south southwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Franklin.
- Williams County
- This Franklin is located in Williams County and lies 210 miles [338 km] to the south southwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Williams County community of Franklin.
- Oklahoma
- Ontario
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Cambria County
- This Franklin is located in Cambria County and lies 273 miles [439.4 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cambria County community of Franklin.
- Chester County
- This Franklin is located in Chester County and lies 432 miles [695.2 km] to the east southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chester County community of Franklin.
- Lehigh County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Franklin [Lehigh County].
- Venango County
- This Franklin is located in Venango County and lies 194 miles [312.2 km] to the east southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Venango County community of Franklin.
- Westmoreland County
- This Franklin is located in Westmoreland County and lies 236 miles [379.8 km] to the southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Westmoreland County community of Franklin.
- Quebec
- This Franklin lies 498 miles [801.5 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Liberty County
- This Franklin is located in Liberty County and lies 1,057 miles [1,701.1 km]<2> to the southwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Liberty County community of Franklin.
- Robertson County
- This Franklin is located in Robertson County and lies 1,075 miles [1,730 km] to the southwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Robertson County community of Franklin.
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Albemarle County
- This Franklin is located in Albemarle County and lies 401 miles [645.3 km]<2> to the southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Albemarle County community of Franklin.
- Fairfax County
- This Franklin is located in Fairfax County and lies 403 miles [648.6 km] to the southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fairfax County community of Franklin.
- Franklin City
- This Franklin is located in Franklin City and lies 527 miles [848.1 km] to the southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin City community of Franklin.
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Brooke County
- This Franklin is located in Brooke County and lies 211 miles [339.6 km]<2> to the southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brooke County community of Franklin.
- Marshall County
- This Franklin is located in Marshall County and lies 228 miles [366.9 km] to the southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marshall County community of Franklin.
- Pendleton County
- This Franklin is located in Pendleton County and lies 339 miles [545.6 km] to the southeast of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pendleton County community of Franklin.
- Wisconsin
- Jackson County
- This Franklin is located in Jackson County and lies 409 miles [658.2 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Franklin.
- Milwaukee County
- This Franklin is located in Milwaukee County and lies 239 miles [384.6 km] to the west of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Milwaukee County community of Franklin.
- Sheboygan County
- This Franklin is located in Sheboygan County and lies 248 miles [399.1 km] to the west northwest of the Franklin that is located in Oakland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sheboygan County community of Franklin.
- Alabama
- Communities Beyond North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Franklin ...
As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.
- Beech
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Big Beaver
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Beaver have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Beaver
- Big Beaver is located in Oakland County
- Charing Cross
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Charing Cross have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charing Cross
- Charing Cross is located in Oakland County
- Clarenceville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarenceville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarenceville
- Clarenceville is located in Oakland County
- Commerce
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Elm
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south) - Ferndale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferndale
- Ferndale is located in Oakland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,198 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ferndale <5>
- Four Towns
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Towns have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Towns
- Four Towns is located in Oakland County
- Oak Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Continue List (6 more) ...
- Pleasant Ridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Oakland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,403 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Ridge <5>
- Quakertown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quakertown
- Quakertown is located in Oakland County
- Royal Oak
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Oak
- Royal Oak is located in Oakland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58,963 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Royal Oak <5>
- Stark
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south) - Union Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Lake
- Union Lake is located in Oakland County
- Wolverine Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolverine Lake
- Wolverine Lake is located in Oakland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,745 people
- Pleasant Ridge
How Far From Franklin to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a village such as Franklin to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Franklin and extending to:
- Pontiac, which is the Seat of Oakland County, lies just to the North.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 65 miles [104.6 km]<2> to the west northwest (WNW). If you could walk a straight line from Franklin to Lansing, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 412 miles [663 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 24 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,990 miles [9,640 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,722 miles [10,818 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,602 miles [7,406.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Franklin: www.franklin.mi.us/
The official website for Oakland County: www.co.oakland.mi.us/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Franklin could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Franklin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Franklin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5223, Longitude: -83.3058 |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Franklin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day. |
| <7> | The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Franklin to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.584 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.183 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.236 degrees. |