Franklin, Michigan
Encyclopedia
Franklin is a village in Southfield Township
Southfield Township, Michigan
Southfield Township is a civil township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 14,547 at the 2010 census.The cities of Lathrup Village and Southfield are autonomous municipalities and are no longer part of the township. The township shares some responsibilities with the...

, Oakland County
Oakland County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the 2010 Census, there were 1,202,362 people, 471,115 households, and 315,175 families residing in the county. The population density as of the 2000 census was 1,369 people per square mile . There were 492,006 housing units at an average density of 564 per square mile...

 in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. 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 cider mill.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the village has a total area of 2.7 square miles (7 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 2,937 people, 1,073 households, and 866 families residing in the village. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 1,105.5 per square mile (426.3/km²). There were 1,118 housing units at an average density of 420.8 per square mile (162.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 89.79% White, 5.07% African American, 0.10% Native American, 3.58% Asian, 0.34% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.85% of the population.

There were 1,073 households out of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 3.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.2% were non-families. 15.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the village the population was spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 2.9% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 29.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 105.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $124,014, and the median income for a family was $139,339. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $61,500 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the village was $71,033. About 0.5% of families and 1.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.4% of those under age 18 and 1.0% of those age 65 or over.

History

Franklin was founded in 1825 (name unknown) by Elijah Bullock, among others, and became Franklin in 1828. By 1830, a business district had formed. The collection of essentially original condition structures in the village is quite unusual in suburban Detroit.

An historical marker was erected in 1960 which 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
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...

. 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
Islam in the United States
From the 1880s to 1914, several thousand Muslims immigrated to the United States from the Ottoman Empire, and from parts of South Asia; they did not form distinctive settlements, and probably most assimilated into the wider society....

 bought the building and turned it into Huda School and Montessori, a K-8 Islamic parochial school
Parochial school
A parochial school is a school that provides religious education in addition to conventional education. In a narrower sense, a parochial school is a Christian grammar school or high school which is part of, and run by, a parish.-United Kingdom:...

; on Saturdays the building houses the related Dar-al-Huda Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

ic Saturday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...

.

In 2006, the Muslim community raised $3.6 million to fund for a renovation and expansion project of the school. In the summer of 2007, the Monahan Construction Company renovated the school, completely remaking it into a completely new school. In September 2007, $1 million were raised in order to continue the 2nd phase of the project which should be completed in the summer of 2008.

Sites of interest

Franklin is known for the Franklin Cider Mill
Franklin Cider Mill
The Franklin Cider Mill, located near Franklin, Michigan opened in 1837 as a gristmill owned by Col. Peter Van Every. This mill was the first in Oakland County where farmers could sell their wheat for cash money....

, which actually lies just north of Franklin's borders, in neighboring Bloomfield Township
Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan
Bloomfield Charter Township, known officially as The Charter Township of Bloomfield, is a charter township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the township population was 41,070....

, although it does have a Franklin mailing address.

Franklin's current firehouse was built in 1959. The village only employs one firefighter and a chief. The rest of the force is strictly volunteer. The station is located on the site of the old village community hall, which ironically burned down in 1958.

Franklin was designated as Michigan's first historic district on November 11, 1969.

Notable residents

  • Luther Biggs
    Luther Biggs
    Luther Biggs is an American professional wrestler, also known by his ring name Disgraceland, who has competed in North American independent promotions including the United States Wrestling Association, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and had a short stint in World Championship Wrestling during the...

    , former professional wrestler
  • Dan Gilbert, chairman and founder of Quicken Loans, and owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Ashley Johnson
    Ashley Johnson
    Ashley Suzanne Johnson is an American actress, best known for her two-season role as Chrissy Seaver in the TV show Growing Pains, and for her voice work in television series such as Teen Titans and Ben 10 Alien Force....

    , actress, former Miss Michigan

External links

  • Village of Franklin
  • http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/advancematch.asp?ctype=any&cname=Franklin&cnty=Oakland
  • http://www.michmarkers.com/detail.asp?txtID=L0011
  • http://www.michmarkers.com/detail.asp?txtID=L0584
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