Welcome to Franklin ...
The town of Franklin is located in Macon County<1> and is the County Seat for Macon County.
The pronunciation of Franklin: FRANK-lin<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Franklin, you might consider that their post office opened in 1818.
When the people of Franklin refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Franklinite<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Franklin has a population of 4,092 people<4> (see below for details).
Franklin is 2,110 feet [643 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Franklin lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
The area code for Franklin: (828)
Websites for Franklin ...
Official Website: www.franklinnc.com/
Chamber of Commerce: www.franklin-chamber.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Franklin had an population of 4,092 people. This is an increase of 6.42% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 17.25% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Franklin had a population of 3,845 people (or 11.32% of the total population of Macon County). This makes Franklin the county's most populous community.
The population of Franklin represents 0.04% of the population of North Carolina (which has 9,535,483 people), making it the state's 165th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 3,845 people, the population of Franklin increased 10.17% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 3,490 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Franklin.
Communities Also Named Franklin ...
While we believe that this Franklin is located in Macon County, we know of another 2 North Carolina communities named Franklin. Those communities are located in the following counties: Rowan and Surry County.
Beyond North Carolina, there are 84 communities that are also named Franklin - they are located in Alabama (2), Arizona, Arkansas, California (4), Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho (2), Illinois, Indiana (2), Iowa (3), Kansas (2), Kentucky (2), Louisiana, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland (2), Massachusetts, Michigan (3), Minnesota (2), Mississippi (2), Missouri, Montana (2), Nebraska (2), Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey (4), New Mexico, New York, Ohio (5), Oklahoma, Ontario (3), Oregon, Pennsylvania (5), Quebec, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas (2), Utah, Vermont, Virginia (3), Washington, West Virginia (3) and Wisconsin (3).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Franklin.
Communities near Franklin ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Franklin.
- Sylva
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylva
- Sylva is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,739 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sylva <6>
- Bryson City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bryson City have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryson City
- Bryson City is located in Swain County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,443 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bryson City <6>
- Mountain City
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain City have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain City
- Mountain City is located in Rabun County (GA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,113 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mountain City <6>
- Highlands
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highlands
- Highlands is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 984 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Highlands <6>
- Webster
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast) - Forest Hills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Forest Hills is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
- Forest Hills has also been known as:
- Forest Hills village
- Village of Forest Hills
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forest Hills <6>
- Dillard
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillard
- Dillard is located in Rabun County (GA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dillard <6>
- Sky Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sky Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sky Valley
- Sky Valley is located in Rabun County (GA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sky Valley <6>
- Dillsboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dillsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillsboro
- Dillsboro is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 248 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dillsboro <6>
- Riverside
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Riverside is located in Macon County
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Franklin. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Franklin.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Franklin. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Franklin.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Franklin. Our list includes 7 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Franklin.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Franklin ...
Looking for more information about Franklin? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Franklin, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Franklin.
Adding Franklin to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Franklin in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Franklin was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Franklin post office opened in 1818.
We also found Franklin in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Franklin.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Franklin: www.franklinnc.com/
The official website for Macon County: www.maconnc.org/
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of North Carolina's counties, including Macon, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Franklin. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Franklin refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a town's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Franklin may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Franklin. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Franklin - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | 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. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |