Tours
The Franklin Historical Society offers several tours of the historic village as well as the cemetery. Each tour reveals insight into the people who lived here and the contributions that they made. People want to hear their stories and we have plenty to tell! Typically, the walking tours are 90 minutes. So lace up some comfortable shoes and read about some offerings that will be sure to spark your interest!
General Historic Walking Tour
Franklin is known as the Town That Time Forgot. The preserved buildings that have been repurposed and the rural character reflect the slogan. Journey through the historic district to get a sense of how the settlement developed and the desire to preserve its history. It's all about the stories!
Hats Off to Ben!
Franklin wore many hats! He was an innovator, statesman, postmaster, printer and inventor. Learn about his life and the colonial period in which he lived.
Participate in these interactive activities:
- Finding Franklin’s “John Hancock” on documents
- Joining the bucket brigade
- Voting colonial style
- Engraving a silver plate
- Playing musical glasses
- Exploring Ben-ventions
- Reciting proverbs
- Making a tri-corner hat
And more!
The cost is two dollars per child.
What's My Line?
In this program, kids learn:
- Who early Franklin settlers were
- How they earned a living
- What their daily life was like
Activities include:
- Doing a tinsmith project
- Playing with blacksmith toys
- Writing with quill and ink
- Folding a pioneer letter
- Making butter
- Washing clothes in an 1850’s machine
- Grinding wheat
- Visiting the general store
Each child wears a name tag of an early Franklin villager. It is the responsibility of every child to discover the line of work or contribution that their individual made in the community.
The program is 70-75 minutes in length.
The cost is $2 per child.
The Barn Tour
Franklin’s history speaks in the remnants of its barns.
These structures were originally built as unheated stables, barns, carriage houses or garages and may be among the only tangible, and certainly most visible links to Franklin’s equestrian past.
To have so many of these buildings in close proximity is one of Franklin’s most unique features.
Pioneers didn’t build barns. They raised them! Barns are landmarks to our agricultural past just waiting for their stories to be told.
The price is $10 per person.
In the Words of the 1852 Cemetery Society Minutes
The Franklin Cemetery Society was formed in 1852. The minutes written by the secretaries reveal decisions made through the years. Why were oak posts set up along the cemetery perimeter? What were the sextant’s duties? When was the tool shed built? Should there be a potter’s field?
All of these questions and more were decided in the red school house, the church or a residence. You can be privy to their decisions!
From Farmers to Tradesman
Like most new settlements, Franklin was first inhabited by farmers. Tradesman followed them: the blacksmith, cooper, tinsmith, miller, sawyer, wheelwright and wainwright. Then, the village was rounded out with the doctor, the pastor and the teacher.
Meet the pioneers that shaped the Town that Time Forgot.
Civil War Veterans' Homes Walking Tour
We are proud to showcase homes where Civil War soldiers lived and worshipped in structures that are still in existence. Most of the veterans lived a hop, skip and jump from each other and only a stone’s throw away from where they all worshiped.
Walk in Henry Cox's Footsteps
Henry Cox was an Englishman who was an assistant surgeon during the Civil War. Until 1893, it was his mission on Memorial Day to lay flowers at the graves of the ten fallen veterans. Walk his footsteps and hear the stories of the men he honored.
The Women Behind the Men Cemetery Tour
In 1920, when women were given the right to vote, they also gained their own identities They weren’t necessarily known as the wives of their husband anymore. They had names! Find out who these women were, the contributions that they made, and just how long it took the culture to recognize their worth and that their abilities were comparable to their male counterparts.
Love, Crime and Mischief Walking Tour
A couple in a cutter with villagers in pursuit!
Horse tails trimmed in the dead of night!
A boy and a skunk on the way to school!
What do these events have in common? Love, Crime and Mischief!
In 1855, the Pontiac Gazette described Franklin as a little country village with 100 inhabitants. A humble, unpretentious street with many simple, comfortable dwellings extends south from the river.
The fairy tale description of a quiet village does not reveal the love, crime and mischief that occurred within its boundaries! The tour will uncover these stories and more.
Behind the Scenes walking tour
A building is determined to be historic by these criteria: age of the building, architecture, significance of the people that lived here or events that occurred there. We will step inside these buildings and let the walls talk to us.
Duration: 90 minutes.
Cost: $10 per person.