Franklin

Formed November 2, 1779 (39^th county)

Franklin County (68,578), Louisburg (3,359)

The red brick 1850 courthouse was remodeled in 1936 and enlarged in 1968.  It sits on a square surrounded by Main, Nash, Market, and Court streets.  United States Highway 401 passes five blocks to the east of the courthouse.  Richard O. Britton and Harry A. Taylor are the architects.  It features columns and veteran memorials on the grounds.  An Annex across the street and an Administration Building behind support the courthouse.  The county was formed from Granville County on November 2, 1779 as the 39^th county with Louisburg as the only county seat.  The county is named for American statesman Benjamin Franklin.  Louisburg is named for King Louis XVI of France. 

Franklin County government consists of a manager, a register, a sheriff, an attorney, and a clerk (executive).  It has 7 Commissioners (legislative.)  Sixteen Superior Court Judges serve Franklin, Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Durham, Edgecombe, Gates, Granville, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Person, Pitt, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, Washington, and Wilson counties, Two District Court Judges serve Franklin, Granville, Person, and Vance counties and a court clerk serves Franklin County (judicial.)  Franklin County is located in northern North Carolina.  Raleigh, North Carolina is southwest and Greensboro, North Carolina is west of the county.  The county center is 4.4 miles Southeast of Louisburg.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Warren, Halifax, Nash, Johnston, Wake, Granville, and Vance counties. 

The area of the county is 494 square miles.  It is 50 out of 100 in the state.  It ranks 38 out of 100 in population in the state.  It has a density of 138.8 persons per square mile making it 39 out of 100 in the state.  Franklin County has 13.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 1 travels through the county from north to south from Vance County to Wake County.  United States Highway 64 clips the southern tip from Nash County, east, to Wake County, west.  United States Highway 401 goes north to south from Warren County to Wake County.  The county looks like a bouquet of flowers leaning northwest.  Louisburg is located slightly north and west of center in the county.  Louisburg is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 4.9% of the county population.  This county is in the Raleigh-Cary Metropolitan Statistical Area.