3. Meet the Town Commission (Left to Right) Perry Conner Sharon Grose Jerry Grazier, Mayor Richard Goodwin A. C. Hurley, Mayor Pro Tem Not pictured: Randy Pugh
4. Meet the Town Staff Shelia Vince Town Clerk Carol L. Kivett Finance Officer Martha Cain Librarian Arnold Allred Public Works Director 4
5. History Faith Rock on the Deep River, near Crawford’s Path (photo circa 1935)
6. History Served as a milllocation as early as 1801 Textile manufacturing began in 1830s Named for Governor Jesse Franklin Franklinville Manufacturing Company, circa 1892 Main Street, Franklinville
12. Deep River Trail Follows abandoned Yadkin & Atlantic railbed Deep River State Trail
13. Town of Franklinville Physical Address: 163 W. Main Street Franklinville, NC 27248 On the web: www.nchomeloan.net Photos provided by Town of Franklinville and the Randolph County Historical Photograph Collection, Randolph County Public Library
Notas do Editor
Franklinville is a town in Randolph County and was named for Governor Jesse FranklinJesse Franklin1820-1821 Jesse Franklin (1760-1823) of Surry County, veteran of the Revolution, came to the governor's office at the age of sixty. Born in Orange County, Virginia, he and his family moved to Surry County. Young Franklin enlisted in the regiment of his maternal uncle, Benjamin Cleveland. By war's end he had risen to the rank of major.Following the Revolution, Franklin settled in Wilkes County, in time returning to Surry, and serving both in the Assembly. In 1798 Franklin, who had served a single term in the U.S. House, returned to Congress as a senator. Concurrently, his younger brother Meshack sat in the House of Representatives. In 1816 Jesse Franklin was one of three men chosen to negotiate settlements with the Cherokee and Chickasaw Indians.On the state level, Franklin continued to represent Surry County in the upper house of the General Assembly, and for four successive terms he again served on the Council of State, under Governors William Miller and John Branch. In 1820 he was elected governor.By that time Franklin was sixty years old, overweight, and in declining health. Despite these factors, he carried out his duties conscientiously and with characteristic simplicity and practicality. Although a fiscal conservative and an advocate of limited government, Franklin contributed modestly to the nascent reform movement led by Archibald D. Murphey. His most notable contributions came in connection with the state's penal code, which under his urgings was rendered less severe and punitive. He also advocated reform of the state militia and settlement of remaining border disputes with neighboring states.Franklin returned to Surry County at the end of his first term, declining to stand for reelection. He died there following a long illness. In 1906 his body was moved to the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park in Greensboro
Faith Rock. The power of water falling over a series of stone ledges in the path of Deep River is the whole reason manufacturing grew up at the place which became known as Franklinsville. As the river flows from Guilford County through Randolph County its level drops some five hundred feet. As it reaches Franklinville it strikes a huge stone outcropping known as Faith Rock and turns, creating a dogleg bend in the river. In 1782 Faith Rock was the site of a Revolutionary War confrontation between the British Colonel David Fanning, who chased the Whig Andrew Hunter along the ridge and into the river. Soon after the spot was recognized for its industrial potential, and several speculative owners purchased land around the falls before the site was developed as a mill seat.
Historic FranklinsvilleThe Story of North Carolina's First Incorporated Textile Mill Village and Oldest Water-Powered Cotton Factory The Town of Franklinsville, North Carolina was incorporated by the state legislature in 1847, but it had been developed as a residential community surrounding one of the state’s first cotton textile mills starting in 1838. Deep River's first cotton textile factory- and one of the first dozen opened in North Carolina- was built at Cedar Falls in 1836. The small wooden building housed a few hundred spindles which produced cotton "bundle yarn" for use by local hand weavers, of whom Randolph had a great many. Though successful, the Cedar Falls factory was not sophisticated. The second local factory, incorporated by the Legislature in 1838, was designed from the beginning to process cotton from raw bale to finished cloth woven on power looms. This corporation, the Randolph Manufacturing Company, brought the textile industry to what is now called Franklinville. In 1846 another factory, the Island Ford Manufacturing Company, was built a mile downriver. In 1848 the Union Manufacturing Company was built at what is now Randleman, and in 1850 the Columbia Manufacturing Company opened in what is now Ramseur. All of these factories operated successfully for more than a century. While Randolph County's antebellum cotton factories were not the first, the biggest or the best known in North Carolina, they are today among the very few survivors of the state’s pioneer textile mill communities. Franklinville remains the least changed by time: only there can a visitor still see all the important elements of a pre-Civil War mill village: factory company store, flour mill, church, school, lodge, and the homes of mill workers and mill owners. Franklinville is not a restored museum village, though many of its buildings are of museum quality. It is a community where people live and work and are beginning to appreciate its rich textile heritage. Franklinville is literally part of the fabric of North Carolina's history. COVERED BRIDGE. The Franklinsville Covered Bridge was built by local carpenter and "mechanic" Thomas Rice in 1844. It stood until a one-lane concrete bridge was built and dedicated to Andrew Hunter in 1928 (the dedication plaque is now affixed to a rock near the footbridge in the riverside park). The covered bridge was used as a footbridge until about 1935, when a fire damaged one end and it was demolished
The two-story brick Greek Revival style Makepeace House is the most impressive dwelling in Franklinville and one of the most architecturally significant houses in Randolph County. Its most prominent feature is the ornate Victorian two-tiered porch, probably built in the 1880s, which hints of the Chinese Chippendale style. The facade boasts a handsome Greek Revival entrance featuring Doric pilasters, sidelights and fanlight. The circa-1840 house displays an austere use of the Greek Revival which, in its simplicity, is related to the New England Federal style popular early in the 19th century. It indicates the conservative survival of earlier architectural tastes among Randolph County artisans and craftsmen. The builder of the house may have been Franklinville's founder, Elisha Coffin, who originally owned all the surrounding acreage. Its location on the highest point in town was originally central in regard to the church and school across the street and the factory at the foot of the hill. In 1850 the property was sold to the mill supervisor George Makepeace, a Massachusetts native. It passed into the hands of his son, George Henry Makepeace, and remained in the family into the early 20th century.Also:Curtis Buie House, 606 West Main StreetJulian House, 466 West Main StreetLambert Parks House, 216 West Main StreetThomas Rice House, 127 Weatherly Drive
A Southern Railway Shippers Guide from 1916 indicates the following industries were located in Franklinville and using the A&Y for delivering and receiving products by rail (although some may have used the station or team track rather than having a dedicated siding):IndustryGoods ShippedCompany Namecotton millBagging and YarnsFranklinville Manufacturing Co.cotton millSheetings and DrillsRandolph Manufacturing Co.flour and grist millflour, meal, shipstuffFranklinville Roller Millswoodworking factorybuilding material, cedar slabsFranklinville Lumber Co.Odds and EndsHere's some reminisces of a Franklinville native, Mr. John Allred:"the train station was yellow trimmed in green. A real storybook structure but it has been torn down for years. It was located near Deep River, at the end of Depot Street and about a stones throw from the Franklinville Methodist Church. The train came through daily around noon , on to Ramseur where the engine was placed on a turntable, picked up the cars and went back toward Franklinville , Cedar Falls and northwest. Coal was delivered to the upper and lower mills for their boilers. Grain was delivered to the flour mill in regular box cars. This was the home of "Dainty Biscuits." They were unloaded on a side track near the power plant. Glenn Cox and myself, when about 12 years n I think of his name, I will pass it along. All sizeable items ordered by the towns people came via train. My firecrackers were delivered by train since they could not be mailed."old, would sometimes in the summer months hitch a ride on the train and ride it to Ramseur, a distance of about 3 miles. We would get off when it stopped at the depot, stay out of sight, and get back on after it had been turned around. It never occurred to us that it might not stop at Franklinville on the way back and sometimes we would have to jump off in Frankinville. The train travelled very slowly and no one got hurt. Just fun and adventuresome. We called it hoboing. Either the engineer or the Good Lord or both, took good care of us.I use to watch the agent send and receive messages on the telegraph. He kept a prince albert tobacco can on it to make it louder. Whe
How to contact us: Town Hall HoursMon.-Tues.-Thur-Fri:9:00am-5:00pmWed.: 9:00am-12noonTown of Franklinville163 West Main St P.O. Box 277Franklinville, NC 27248 Call or Fax:336.824.2604(Phone)336.824.2446 (Fax) Email:FranklinvilleNC@triad.rr.com
