Franklin County is located midway between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and is
near the geographical center of Southern Illinois.
The county forms its boundary as follows: On the north, Jefferson; east, Hamilton
and Saline; south, Williamson; west, Jackson and Perry.
The Franklin County of today is about 24 miles long east and west and 18 miles wide
Originally the third principal meridian was the
western boundary of the county but the legislature of 1835 made Little Muddy the
boundary line of the county for 12 miles on the west.
There are 10 full congressional townships in the county, and three fractional
congressional townships.
An election was held on Nov. 7, 1871, in the county for or against township
organization. The proposition for township organization carried and the County Court
appointed three men to divide the county into civil townships as it is today, with
the exception of Township 7 Range 2 East which they named Townmount instead of
Denning as it is now called. The naming of the civil townships were as follows:
Tp. 5 S., R. 4 E., was called Northern; Tp. 5 S., R. 3 E., Ewing; Tp. 5 S., R. 2 E.,
Barren; the part east of Little Muddy in Tp. 5 S., R. 1 E., Goode; the part between
Little Muddy and Third Principal Meridian in Tp. 6 S., R. 1 W. and the part east of
Little Muddy in Tp. 6 5., R. 1 E., Tyrone; Tp. 6 S., R. 2 E., Browning; Tp. 6 S.,
R. 3 E., Benton; Tp. 6 S., R. 4 E., Eastern; Tp. 7 S., R. 4 E., Cave; Tp. 7 S.,
R. 3 E., Frankfort; Tp. 7 S., R. 2 E., Denning; and Tp. 7 S., R. 1 E., Six Mile.
The Big Muddy River rises in Jefferson County and flows southwest through the county.
The major portion of the county is east of the river. In fact all the streams of the
county are a part of the Big Muddy system, with the exception of the Saline Creek in
Cave Township.
Franklin County was first occupied by the Indians. The valley of the Big Muddy and
its tributaries were a paradise for the Indian hunter. The woods abound with wild
animals whose flesh was good for food and whose skin or fur was suitable for clothing.
The Indians had their village generally on some river or lake, as their headquarters,
and would make incursion into what is now known as Franklin County to hunt. The
eastern portion of the county was a camp ground for the hunters. Also on the west
of Big Muddy was another camp ground. As evidence of this, numerous Indian relics,
such as spikes, axes, etc., have been found on their grounds.
The Indians of Illinois belong to the great Algonquin family of Indians. The tribes
of the state were joined together in a strong confederacy called the Illini which means
"REAL MEN." The tribes that composed this confederacy were the Kaskaskias, Cahokias,
Michigamies, Peoras, and Tamaroas, and they originally occupied the territory of the
great river of the state, - Illinois River. The river took its name from the confederacy,
and the name Illinois, was later applied to the political organization, later still,
called the State of Illinois. The Shawnee Indians occupied the Ohio River Valley and
were enemies of the Illini confederacy.
The village of the Shawnee Indians was called Shawnee and was located on the Ohio
River near the City of Shawneetown. The Shawnees occupied the territory of Southern
Illinois from the Ohio River to the Big Muddy River. The territory west of the Big
Muddy and to the Mississippi River was occupied from about 1680 to 1830 by the Kaskaskia
Indians. Their village being located near the old town of Kaskaskia,
the Shawnees and Kaskaskias had many battles and were bitter enemies.
The Shawnees seemed to be the stronger of the two tribes.
About the year 1802, the Kaskaskias had crossed over the Big Muddy River and were
encroaching on the Shawnee territory. Some Shawnee Indian spies had discovered the
Kaskaskias on their territory in Townmount prairie. Tradition has it, that an Indian
girl was seen going over the old Frankfort hill at sunset, by the next morning a large
number of warriors were at Frankfort Hill ready for battle. A great battle now seems
inevitable. Preparation for battle begins. Breast works were thrown up in anticipation
of the forthcoming battle. The battle was a fierce one and lasted for some time, slowly
the Kaskaskias began to retreat westward toward the Big Muddy River. They crossed the
river and reached Little Muddy, which was swollen and difficult to cross. And here a
great many of the Kaskaskias were killed. Some, however, succeeded in crossing, but were
overtaken near where Old Du Quoin is and the tribe almost annihilated. The Indian chief
of the Kaskaskia was John Baptiste Du Quoin, a cross between a Frenchman and an Indian,
who succeeded in escaping. The spot where the Kaskaskias were massacred was named Du Quoin
after this noted Indian chief. The coming of the Illinois Central railroad, the station on
the road was called Du Quoin, which is one of the leading cities in Southern Illinois.
To this day can be seen some evidence of this great Indian battle which settled the
dispute to the hunting ground on the Big Muddy. This battle was fought in the Townmount
praine near the cross roads at the public well about two miles from Frankfort. The white
settlers were soon able to drive the Indians out of this county. The Indians occasionally
came back to hunt and for a while were very troublesome, stealing the settlers' corn and
stock. The last visit of the
Indians to the county was on the lower Big Muddy about 1832. The French were the first
white people to occupy the Mississippi Valley. La Salle found on his trip down the
Mississippi River the Illini confederation, and he was the first to give the territory
of Illinois the name the "Illinois Country."
The French made a settlement at the Indian village, Kaskaskia, about 1700, and by building
a system of forts in the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys, they expected to be able to defend
the territory. The English had settled along the Atlantic seaboard and claimed the western
territory that was occupied by the French. A clash of arms between the two nations was
inevitable. At the battle of Quebec the French lost all their colonial possessions in
America. Kaskaskia and the "Illinois Country" fell into the hands of the Englishmen in
1759.
The burden of the cost of the war was placed upon the English colonies. They refused to
pay the tax placed upon them and the Revolutionary war resulted. Col. Geo. Roger Clark,
with a small army of Virginians, known as "Long Knives," captured Kaskaskia and Cahokia
from the English for Virginia.
The Virginia legislature formed this captured territory into one great county and named
it the "Illinois County." This was the largest county ever created, including five states,
Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. There was some enmity springing up between
those states that had western possession and those that did not have any. So to pacify
them, Virginia agreed to cede the County of Illinois to the general government.
The general government organized this territory into the "North West Territory'' in 1787.
Gen. Arthur St. Clair, a revolutionary soldier, was appointed its first governor, and the
seat of government was located at Marrietta. Gov. St. Clair came on to Marrietta and formed
the first county ever organized in the "North West Territory" and named it Washington in
honor of President Washington who was then president.
The governor created another new county farther down the Ohio, this was called Hamilton,
in honor of Alexander Hamilton who was then Secretary of the Treasury, and made Cincinnati
the county seat, this being the second county organized in the North West Territory. Gov.
St. Clair visited Kaskaskia in 1790 and while at this place created a new county. This
took in the territory west of the Wabash and Ohio rivers. This was called St. Clair
County in honor of Gov. St. Clair, and Cahokia was made the county seat. This was the
mother of Illinois counties. The settlement of Kaskaskia objected to this, so, in 1795
St. Clair County was divided and the south part of the county was formed into a new
county, called Randolph in honor of Edmond Randolph, attorney general under Washington,
and Kaskaskia was made the county seat. In 1800, William Henry Harrison, of Log Cabin
fame, and who became president in 1841, was a delegate in Congress. He advocated a bill
creating the Indiana Territory out of the old Northwest, making Vincennes the capital,
this included the territory of Illinois. The president (Thos. Jefferson) appointed
Harrison governor of Indiana Territory, when it was created. In 1809 there was some
dissatisfaction on the part of the Kaskaskia settlements about being attached to Indiana
Territory. So the Illinois part of Indiana Territory asked Congress to form a new territory.
So Congress granted their wishes and the Territory of Illinois was created, with capital at
Kaskaskia. Judge Ninian Edwards of Kentucky, was appointed the first territorial governor
by James Madison. Edwards was endorsed by Henry Clay who was then U. S. Senator from
Kentucky. In 1812, the Territory of Illinois was made a territory of the second class
which allowed a delegate in Congress from Illinois Territory, and then three new counties
were organized - Madison, Johnson and Gallatin, with county seats respectively,
Edwardsville, Elvira, and Shawneetown.
Madison was named in honor of President Madison; Johnson was named in honor of Richard
M. Johnson, U. S. Senator from Kentucky, and who was the slayer of Tecumseh, the great
Shawnee chief; Gallatin was named in honor of Albert Gallatin. The territory of Franklin,
first a part of St. Clair, then a part of Randolph, and finally Gallatin County, was
organized. The Big Muddy was made the boundary line.
The present Franklin County was divided between Gallatin and Randolph. Gallatin County
took in the Ohio Country up to the English settlement called Albion. The discovery of Salt
Licks and Saline water, attracted a great many people to this vicinity. Then Shawneetown
became a port of the entry on the Ohio for the southeast portion of Southern Illinois.
A land office was opened up at Shawneetown, and this part of Illinois Territory grew very
rapidly in population.
The north part of Gallatin was organized in 1815 in White County and named in honor of the
manager of the Salt Works at Equality, Capt. Isaac White, who lost his life at the battle
of Tippecanoe. Carmi was made the county seat. This included the eastern part of Franklin.
The western part of Franklin now was a part of Jackson; named in honor of the hero of New
Orleans. The county seat of Jackson County was Brownsville. As the Territory of Illinois
continued to grow rapidly the question of statehood was being advocated. To foster this
movement it was thought wise, to create three more counties, consequently, the territorial
legislation created Union, Washington, and Franklin Counties, January 2, 1818. The new
county of Franklin took its name from Benjamin Franklin who, next to Washington, did more
to win independence than any other man. Franklin was the fifteenth county when Illinois
became a state, April 18th, 1819, and finally, December 3rd, 1818, she took her position
among the states of the union. The county is a few months older than the state. The first
county seat of Franklin County was at the home of Moses Garret, about three miles east of
Frankfort.
Moses Garret sold the county land on Frankfort Hill and in 1826 the county seat was located
at Frankfort. The Franklin County of 1818, included what is now Williamson County. In 1839,
the county was divided and Williamson County was organized by act of the Illinois
legislature and Bainbridge was made the county seat. Benton was made the new county
seat of Franklin County.
The citizens of the state of Illinois and Franklin County owe a debt of gratitude to
Daniel Pope Cook who first advocated statehood for the Territory of Illinois and whose
influence brought about the organization of Franklin County as one of the political units
of the state.
Mr. Cook was a son-in-law of the territorial governor Ninian Edwards, and was a nephew of
Nathaniel Pope who then represented Illinois in Congress and who was the author of the
Bill for Statehood for Illinois.
Cook County was named in his honor.
Mr. Cook was editor of the only newspaper in Illinois Territory, and through its columns
he advocated statehood which caused the territorial legislature to present a memorial to
Congress asking for statehood. When the legislature met Mr. Cook was elected clerk of
the lower house which put him in touch with all the members. There were only twelve
members of the legislature and they all roomed together, including the clerk, - Mr. Cook.
In arranging the memorial Mr. Cook suggested that it would be wise to organize more
counties, which would make a better showing for the territory for statehood. Consequently,
Union, Washington and Franklin Counties were organized Jan. 2, 1818. The memorial to
Congress was presented in January, 1818, by Nathaniel Pope and Jan. 2, 1818, the bill
passed creating Franklin County. April 18, 1818, the enabling act was passed by Congress,
creating the Territory of Illinois into a state. Congress asked that the territory must
contain 40,000 people before final admission.
Then came the hunt for people in all the counties to make the 40,000 required. The
population of Franklin County wasreported at 1228 and contained 171 families. At this
time Franklin County included Williamson. The total population of all the counties to
date was 34,610 or 5,390 less than the required number. So another hunt was started. A
diligent search was made. An enumerator was stationed on the main public highway so as
to catch the emigrants. It is said that some emigrants headed for Missouri were solicited
by the enumerator to stop in Illinois, the enumerator agreeing to find a suitable location
for the newcomer. The enumerator thus added several persons to his list. The second report
made the county's population 1281 or 53 more. By all the counties taking the second census
the count stood 40,258 which now met the requirement of Congress. So Illinois became a
state Dec. 3, 1818.
The reports of the territorial legislation of 1817 and 1818 show that a Mr. N. Davis of
Jackson offered the petition or measure as prepared by Mr. Cook, to organize Franklin
County. A Mr. S. F. Gard, of Edwards County suggested the name "Franklin" in honor of
Benjamin Franklin who, next to Washington, had done more probably to win independence
than any other man of that time.
Delegates to the Constitutional Convention to be held at Kaskaskia were selected in the
new counties.
Of The 171 families in Franklin County at the time the state came into the Union and the
county was organized in 1818, 90 percent of them were from the South.
The early settlers of the county who came from the South, brought with them, a hospitality
and sociability, that could not be excelled anywhere in the U. S. The typical Yankee
possessed many good traits of character but the genuine hospitality and sociability of
the people of the South was a great inheritance of which Franklin County received in her
early days.
Franklin County is indebted to her early settlers for the gentle, Christian spirit that
had been a great factor in moulding the character of the founders of Franklin County.
Many pioneers brought their religion with them to Illinois as well as their personal
property.
They looked upon religion as necessary as anything they could possess, that would be
useful to them in the trying times in the new county. Braxton Parrish gave one half of
his money for a bible to take with him to Illinois. The early settlers - men and women -
of this county stood for something, as a rule, they were genuine people, all wool and a
yard wide. They were simon pure, not adulterated with deceit, hypocrisy or shame.
Quoting from the writings of Hon. Q. E. Browning, a descendant of one of the oldest
families in the county, his tribute to the character of the early pioneers are here
given:
These early men were strong of limb, stout of heart and firm of purpose.
Their environment necessarily made them intense and rugged in all things. On the other
hand their faith in the Divinity and His promise was absolute.
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