Franklin County, Missouri

Franklin County is a located in the  of. Franklin County is part of the. As of 2005, the population was 101,579. Its is. The county was organized in and is named for.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,410 (931 ). 2,390 km² (923 sq mi) of it is land and 20 km² (8 sq mi) of it (0.84%) is water.

The center of the forms the nominal northern border of the county, although the river has since changed its course in places:  a portion of  near  is now south of the river, while a portion of Franklin County near  is north of the river.

The runs for 107 miles in the county. It cuts a deep, narrow valley, and is very crooked, it empties into the near. This river is largely undeveloped and has limited access and few bridges over it: during low water, a number of fords allow crossing.

The county is in the region, with steep hills and deep valleys, and, , and  charatersitic of  areas. The underlying rock is typically, including and. Mining activity in the county included ores of, , and , and deposits of. The soils in most of the county tend to be thin, rocky red clay, and is poor for most agriculture, while the soil near the Missouri River is dark, rich, and thick, and used primarily for rowcrops such as, , and. Much of the county is covered with thick forests, reestablished since in the.

Urbanization is increasing in the county, especially surrounding and, and along. is now a continuation of the suburban region of. The majority of the county retains a rural character, and includes extensive wilderness areas. Washington is the biggest town in Franklin County.

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * &  (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)

Major highways

 *  (1926-1979)
 *  (1926-1979)
 *  (1926-1979)

History
The region was settled during the rule of the. was the location of the Spanish log fort San Juan del Misuri (-). Family and followers of settled the area, starting in.

Substantial numbers of anti-slavery families started moving to the area in, and they soon overwhelmed the existing population of slaveowners, and became a strong supporter of the  during the ; the area was ransaked by General 's troops during the war. The county became a railroad and steamboat transportation center, and its manufacturing industry has remained strong from the end of the civil war until today.

Franklin County was featured in the A&E special, "Meth: A County in Crisis".

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 93,807 people, 34,945 households, and 25,684 families residing in the county. The was 39/km² (102/sq mi). There were 38,295 housing units at an average density of 16/km² (42/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 97.47%, 0.94% or , 0.24% , 0.27% , 0.02% , 0.20% from , and 0.86% from two or more races. 0.72% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 34,945 households out of which 36.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.40% were living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.50% were non-families. 22.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.40% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 30.00% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,474, and the median income for a family was $50,122. Males had a median income of $35,849 versus $23,344 for females. The for the county was $19,705. About 4.50% of families and 7.00% of the population were below the, including 7.90% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.