Washington, however, kept his troops at Chimney Rock, just north of Franklin, until the British withdrew. Two British generals, Cornwallis and DeHeister, tried to lure General George Washington and his Continental Army into battle on the plains of Middlebush and East Millstone. įranklin Township was very much a part of Revolutionary War history and the scene of many raiding parties along Route 27, then known as the King's Highway. Brahms in his books Images of America: Franklin Township (1997) and Franklin Township, Somerset County, NJ: A History, and The Case for William Franklin and The Case for Benjamin Franklin, the Township Council chose the theory that the township was indeed named for Benjamin Franklin. In 2000, after considering the evidence set forth by William B. It has been unclear if the township was named for founding father Benjamin Franklin or for his illegitimate son William Franklin, a Loyalist and the last Royal Governor of New Jersey (from 1763 to 1776). Portions of the township were taken to form South Bound Brook (formed within Township, became independent municipality as of April 11, 1907) and East Millstone (February 18, 1873, returned to Franklin Township on December 31, 1949). Franklin Township was incorporated on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey's initial group of 104 townships by an act of the New Jersey Legislature. What is now Franklin Township was originally formed circa 1745 as Eastern precinct. In 2008, Franklin Township ranked #5 on Money magazine's list of America's Top 100 Best Places to Live. Traditionally a farming community, it has become a fast-growing suburb with massive development in the later 20th and 21st centuries as a diverse blend of races, religions, and cultures. The township was the state's 19th most-populous municipality in 2020, after being ranked 22nd in 2010. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 68,364, an increase of 6,064 (+9.7%) from the 2010 census count of 62,300, which in turn reflected an increase of 11,397 (+22.4%) from the 50,903 counted in the 2000 census.

It is centrally located in the Raritan Valley region, within the New York Metropolitan Area. 08873, 08875 – Somerset (also used as East Millstone) įranklin Township is a township in Somerset County, in the U.S.

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