Franklin

Formed February 1, 1811 (7^th county)

Franklin County (22,796), Brookville (2,623)                

A clock tower sits on the little brown brick and masonry governmental structure at Main, 4^th, Court, and 5^th streets.  Main Street is United States Highway 52.  The current courthouse was built in 1912 from the 1852 facility creating a debate over the age of the building.  Assuming this 1912 building is correct then the architects are Elmer E. Dunlap and Marshall E. Van Arman.  The 1912 building is in the Neo-Classical style and it was renovated in 1973.  It features columns and a clock tower.  A gazebo is on the grounds. 

Franklin County government consists of a sheriff, an auditor, a clerk, a coroner, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 7 Council Members (legislative.)  Two Circuit Court Judges and a prosecutor serve Franklin County (judicial.) The county is in eastern Indiana on the border with Ohio.  Indianapolis, Indiana is northwest and Cincinnati, Ohio is southeast of the county.  The Whitewater River flows through the middle of the county.  The county center is 4.5 miles West of Brookville.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Union County and Ohio and Dearborn, Ripley, Decatur, Rush, and Fayette counties.  The county was established on February 1, 1811 as the 7^th county and named for American Statesman Benjamin Franklin.  He is also the namesake of the county seat of Johnson County.  The county was taken from parts of Clark, Dearborn, and Knox counties.  Brookville, the only county seat, was named by its founder Jesse Brooks in honor of his mother.  

The area of the county is 384 square miles.  It is 55 out of 92 in the state.  It ranks 67 out of 92 in population in the state.  It has a density of 59.4 persons per square mile making it 65 out of 92 in the state.  Franklin County has 25.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 74 cuts the southwest tip east to west from Ripley County to Decatur County.  United States Highway 52 goes northwest to southeast from Rush County to Dearborn County.  The county is rectangular with a point added to the southwest.  Brookville is in the eastern half of the county.  Brookville is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 11.5% of the county population.  This county is in the Cincinnati-Middletown Metropolitan Statistical Area.