The town of Franklin was founded by European Americans in 1816 and named for Founding Father Benjamin Franklin of the United States. Landmarks include Franklin County, Shaw Nature Reserve and Washington station. Franklin is the birthplace of Leo Camera, politician.
Franklin, Missouri gifts and souvenirs: 38 designs made from Franklin's own map, landmarks and history, from $10 to $99. Printed to order and shipped free in the USA.
| Popular | Price |
|---|---|
| Franklin Hometown Ornament | $23 |
| Franklin Landmarks Photo Poster | from $40 |
| Franklin Vintage Travel Poster | from $40 |
| Franklin Varsity Crewneck | from $57 |
| Franklin Est. Tee | from $33 |
| Franklin Town Line Mug | from $26 |
Ceramic keepsake, gold ribbon
Nine local landmarks, archival matte
Its landmark photo in a classic travel-poster layout
A local landmark photo as a gallery print
Classic large-letter postcard art, filled with local photos
Six local landmarks as instant photos on kraft paper
Map of local landmarks, washable fabric
Heavy-blend fleece, street map printed on the back
Red heavy-blend crewneck, knit-stitch town print
Soft Bella+Canvas jersey
Kids' Bella+Canvas jersey, youth sizes
Bella+Canvas toddler jersey
Bella+Canvas baby bodysuit
Large-letter postcard art filled with local photos
Glossy ceramic, dishwasher safe
Large-letter postcard art filled with local photos, 11 oz ceramic
Weatherproof, for the front walk
24″×16″, printed coir-look fibers, rubber back
12″×12″ printed wood, ready to hang
Soft-touch, zip cover
A local landmark photo with the town name, 18″×18″
Sturdy all-over-print tote
Large-letter postcard art on a sturdy tote
Foam-front trucker, printed (not embroidered) with local photos
Glossy top, cork back
Soft fleece, 50″×60″
Six local landmarks as instant photos, soft fleece 50″×60″
20 oz, double-wall stainless
6″×4″ postcard, glossy front
6″×4″ postcard, glossy front
6″×4″ postcard, glossy front
6″×4″ postcard, glossy front
From the Library of Congress collections: a historic survey drawing or photograph of the town
From the Library of Congress collections: a historic survey drawing or photograph of the town
From the Library of Congress collections: a historic survey drawing or photograph of the town
From the Library of Congress collections: a historic survey drawing or photograph of the town
From the Library of Congress collections: a historic survey drawing or photograph of the town
From the Library of Congress collections: a historic survey drawing or photograph of the town
Population 2010: 95 → 2020: 70
From Wikidata (CC0).
The town of Franklin was founded by European Americans in 1816 and named for Founding Father Benjamin Franklin of the United States. William Becknell, who is now known as the "Father of the Santa Fe Trail," lived on a farm a few miles northwest of Franklin. There was a spring near Becknell's property, Boone Lick Spring.
The spring had saline water and attracted people from St. Louis and points east, who came to distill the water for its salt. They came so often that they created a trail, calling it Boone's Lick Road. "Boone" refers to Nathan and Daniel Morgan Boone, sons of explorer Daniel Boone. The brothers first operated the saltlick business.
In 1821, William Becknell put a notice in the Missouri Intelligencer, announcing that he was organizing a party to go "westward, for the purpose of trading for horses and mules and catching wild animals of every description." On September 1, 1821, his party crossed the Missouri River at Arrow Rock and set out along what would become known in a few years as the Santa Fe Trail. There had long been trade along this way: years before the US acquired the Louisiana Purchase, the Chouteau family of St. Louis had been granted a fur trading monopoly with the Spanish at Santa Fe.
But the following year, Becknell searched for a path that would be wide enough for wagons and draft teams, to accommodate more trade. This improvement was integral to the growth of the Santa Fe Trail for use by both traders and the emigrants of the 1830s who moved on by various branches to the territories of the West: the future states of Oregon, California, and Washington.
In 1827, a devastating flood of the Missouri River destroyed much of Franklin. Residents rebuilt a short distance away on higher ground, creating New Franklin, Missouri.
Born in Madison County, Kentucky, near the city of Richmond, Kit Carson migrated as a boy with his family to Franklin, where he was raised. Lindsey Carson was a farmer of Scots-Irish descent who had fought in the Revolutionary War under General Wade Hampton. He had a total of fifteen surviving children: five by his first wife, and ten by Rebecca Robinson, his second wife and Kit's mother. The Carson family settled on a tract of land owned by the sons of Daniel Boone, who had purchased the land from the Spanish during their brief period of rule here after the Seven Years' War. This was prior to the United States annexing the territory following its Louisiana Purchase of 1803 from France.
Carson was eight when his father was killed by a falling tree while clearing land. The father's death reduced the Carson family to a desperate poverty. Young Kit dropped out of school to work on the family farm, and to assist in hunting. At the age of 14, Kit was apprenticed to a saddlemaker (Workman's Saddleshop) in Franklin. The town was considered the eastern terminus of the Santa Fe Trail, which had opened two years earlier. Many of the customers at the saddleshop were trappers and traders, from whom Kit would hear stirring tales of the Far West. Carson is reported to have found working in the saddle shop to be suffocating: he once said "the business did not suit me, and I concluded to leave". Around 1826, aged 16, Kit secretly signed on with a large, merchant, Santa Fe-bound caravan in Franklin purportedly wagon-mastered by Stephen Turley and Jesse B. Turley, friends from nearby Lamine.
Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Franklin, Missouri, revision 1374414208 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
We share a part of every Franklin sale with local partners, and we'd love to print from your collection. Old photographs, maps and postcards make the best keepsakes.
Partner with usA favorite landmark, your street, a school or team, an anniversary gift, a different product. Tell us and we'll get back to you by email.
4 free coloring pages of Franklin, each traced from a photo of a local landmark. Print them at home, at school or for story hour.
Franklin's population was 70 in the 2020 U.S. Census, down from 95 in 2010.
Washington station
Franklin County
Shaw Nature Reserve
Meramec Conservation Area