Franklin, Michigan
| Franklin | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
| Village of Franklin | |
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| Motto: "Experience It" | |
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| Coordinates: 42°31′12″N 83°18′14″W / 42.52000°N 83.30389°WCoordinates: 42°31′12″N 83°18′14″W / 42.52000°N 83.30389°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Michigan |
| County | Oakland |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.66 sq mi (6.89 km2) |
| • Land | 2.66 sq mi (6.89 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 833 ft (254 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 3,150 |
| • Estimate (2016) | 3,244 |
| • Density | 1,200/sq mi (460/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 48025 |
| Area code(s) | 248 |
| FIPS code | 26-30340 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0626409 |
| Website | Historic Franklin Village, Michigan |
Franklin is a village in Southfield Township, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,150 at the 2010 census. The community is known for large, estate-style homes situated on ravines, as well as its vintage downtown and a nearby cider mill.
The community was founded in 1825 by Elijah Bullock and other settlers, and was named after Benjamin Franklin in 1831. By 1830, a business district formed. The village's collection of essentially original-condition structures is quite unusual in suburban Detroit. The village was incorporated in 1953.
In 1960 a historical marker was erected that reads: "FRANKLIN VILLAGE Founded in 1824-1825, Franklin received its present name in 1828. First postmaster was Dr. Ebenezer Raynale, state legislator and physician. The William Huston store, opened in 1830, was the forerunner of a business center that later included the famous Broughton Wagon Shop, the Van Every Mills, now Ye Olde Cider Mill, several taverns, two distilleries, and two churches. The village also was a station on the Underground Railroad. Franklin still has the appearance and atmosphere of an early Michigan village."
Another marker stands in front of Franklin Village School: "Franklin Village School Michigan's Territorial Council passed a law in 1827 requiring every township with fifty or more inhabitants to establish a school. Thus the following year, the first school in Southfield Township was erected in Franklin Village. Sophie Gotie taught twenty-nine students in a log schoolhouse located near the still extant house of early settler Daniel Broughton. Franklin village built a new school in 1845 at the foot of School Hill on property deeded by Winthrop Worthings. On this site in 1869 a third school was constructed on land given by wealthy postmaster A.A. Rust. After that building burned in 1922, the village erected the present school on this same location. The Franklin School District No. 3, Southfield Township, joined the Birmingham Public Schools in 1945." This building closed as a public school in 1979; in 1988, members of Metro Detroit's Muslim community bought the building and turned it into Huda School and Montessori, a K-8 Islamic parochial school; on Saturdays the building houses the related Dar-al-Huda Islamic Saturday school.
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