Franklin, Georgia

Note: a former Franklin, Georgia is now West Point, Georgia.

Franklin is a village in Heard County, Georgia, United States. The population was 902 at the 2000 census. The village is the county seat of Heard County. The village is named after Benjamin Franklin.

History
Franklin was settled in 1770. Franklin was designated seat of the newly formed Heard County in 1831.

Geography
Franklin is located at 33.27979°N, -85.0984°W.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.4 sqmi, of which, 3.2 sqmi of it is land and 0.1 sqmi of it (4.13%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 902 people, 349 households, and 203 families residing in the village. The population density was 277.8 people per square mile (107.2/km²). There were 398 housing units at an average density of 122.6 per square mile (47.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 69.07% White, 29.93% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.33% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.11% of the population.

There were 349 households out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.1% were married couples living together, 25.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% were non-families. 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the village the population was spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 24.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 77.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.9 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $19,125, and the median income for a family was $23,571. Males had a median income of $29,583 versus $20,724 for females. The per capita income for the village was $14,142. About 27.8% of families and 28.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.3% of those under age 18 and 29.4% of those age 65 or over.

Heard County School District
The Heard County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, that consists of three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 132 full-time teachers and over 2,278 students.
 * Centralhatchee Elementary School
 * Ephesus Elementary School
 * Heard Elementary School
 * Heard County Middle School
 * Heard County Comprehensive High School

Old Heard County Jail
Pauly Jail Company of Alabama built the jail in 1912 for $7,500, using plans by Manly Jail Works of Dalton, Georgia. The jail replaced an older jail built in 1880 that became unfit. The jail housed up to 16 prisoners upstairs. The Heard County Sheriff (eight sheriffs from 1912–1964) and his family lived downstairs. In the 1930s, two prisoners cut the window bars and escaped. Death row prisoners were held here, but the jail's gallows were never used. In 1964, a new county jail opened on the Franklin Square and the jail closed.

The jail was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 27, 1981. In 1987 the jail was completely restored by the Heard County Historical Society.

It now serves as a museum and historical center.