Franklin, known as the "Fluorescent Mineral Capital of the World,"[23] is located over a rich ore body containing more than 150 minerals, many of them fluorescent and 25 of which are found nowhere else on earth. Settled in the 17th century, the village known as Franklin Furnace after Benjamin Franklin,[24][25][26] developed near iron mines and iron smelting operations located along the Wallkill River. In the early 19th century, zinc deposits in the area began to be developed commercially. For most of the century many small companies mined zinc and iron in the Franklin area. In 1897 all zinc mining efforts merged into the New Jersey Zinc Company, which was a major controlling factor in the development of Franklin. Immigrants from Russia, Britain, Hungary and Poland joined the work force at the mine. The population, 500 in 1897, had swelled to 3,000 by 1913. On March 18, 1913, the Borough of Franklin was incorporated from portions of Hardyston Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 23, 1913.[27]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 4.43 square miles (11.47 km2), including 4.36 square miles (11.28 km2) of land and 0.07 square miles (0.19 km2) of water (1.60%).[2][3]
Of the 1,936 households, 28.7% had children under the age of 18; 49.7% were married couples living together; 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present and 32.0% were non-families. Of all households, 26.7% were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.15.[20]
22.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 31.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.3 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 93.1 males.[20]
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $62,813 (with a margin of error of +/− $7,585) and the median family income was $81,875 (+/− $11,964). Males had a median income of $49,413 (+/− $8,152) versus $45,385 (+/− $9,926) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $29,708 (+/− $2,344). About 5.1% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.[38]
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census[17] there were 5,160 people, 1,898 households, and 1,324 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,150.2 inhabitants per square mile (444.1/km2). There were 1,997 housing units at an average density of 445.1 per square mile (171.9/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 95.10% White, 0.62% African American, 0.35% Native American, 1.47% Asian, 1.22% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.42% of the population.[36][37]
There were 1,898 households, out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.22.[36][37]
In the borough the age distribution of the population shows 27.5% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.[36][37]
The median income for a household in the borough was $44,985, and the median income for a family was $52,682. Males had a median income of $41,080 versus $26,201 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $19,386. About 5.6% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.1% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.[36][37]
Government
Local government
Franklin is governed under the borough form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 municipalities (of the 564) statewide, making it the most common form of government in New Jersey.[39] The governing body is comprised of the mayor and the borough council, with all positions elected at-large on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. The mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The borough council includes six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle.[8] The borough form of government used by Franklin is a "weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council.[40][41]
As of 2024[update], the mayor of Franklin Borough is Republican John M. Sowden IV, whose term of office ends December 31, 2027. Members of the Borough Council are Concetto Formica (R, 2025), Rachel Heath (R, 2024), Joseph Limon (R, 2026), John E. Postas (R, 2026), Stephen M. Skellenger (R, 2025) and Gilbert J. Snyder (R, 2024).[4][42][43][44][45]
Federal, state and county representation
Franklin is located in the 5th Congressional District[46] and is part of New Jersey's 24th state legislative district.[47][48][49]
Sussex County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners whose five members are elected at-large in partisan elections on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year. At an annual reorganization meeting held in the beginning of January, the board selects a Commissioner Director and Deputy Director from among its members, with day-to-day supervision of the operation of the county delegated to a County Administrator.[55] As of 2025[update], Sussex County's Commissioners are
Director Jill Space (R, Wantage Township, 2025),[56]
Deputy Director Chris Carney (R, Frankford Township, 2027),[57]
Jack DeGroot (R, Sussex, 2026),[58]
William Hayden (R, Branchville, 2025)[59] and
Alan Henderson (R, Lafayette Township, 2027).[60][61]
Constitutional officers elected on a countywide basis are
Clerk Jeffrey M. Parrott (R, Wantage Township, 2026),[62]
Sheriff Michael F. Strada (R, Hampton Township, 2025)[63] and
Surrogate Gary R. Chiusano (R, Frankford Township, 2028).[64]
Elections
As of March 2011, there were a total of 3,071 registered voters in Franklin, of which 469 (15.3% vs. 16.5% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 1,302 (42.4% vs. 39.3%) were registered as Republicans and 1,296 (42.2% vs. 44.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 4 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.[65] Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 60.9% (vs. 65.8% in Sussex County) were registered to vote, including 78.2% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 86.5% countywide).[65][66]
In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 1,121 votes (57.2% vs. 59.4% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 772 votes (39.4% vs. 38.2%) and other candidates with 58 votes (3.0% vs. 2.1%), among the 1,959 ballots cast by the borough's 3,095 registered voters, for a turnout of 63.3% (vs. 68.3% in Sussex County).[67] In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 1,213 votes (57.2% vs. 59.2% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 857 votes (40.4% vs. 38.7%) and other candidates with 37 votes (1.7% vs. 1.5%), among the 2,122 ballots cast by the borough's 2,930 registered voters, for a turnout of 72.4% (vs. 76.9% in Sussex County).[68] In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 1,269 votes (63.4% vs. 63.9% countywide), ahead of Democrat John Kerry with 695 votes (34.7% vs. 34.4%) and other candidates with 28 votes (1.4% vs. 1.3%), among the 2,001 ballots cast by the borough's 2,740 registered voters, for a turnout of 73.0% (vs. 77.7% in the whole county).[69]
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 68.6% of the vote (841 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 27.7% (339 votes), and other candidates with 3.8% (46 votes), among the 1,242 ballots cast by the borough's 3,134 registered voters (16 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 39.6%.[70][71] In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 870 votes (63.0% vs. 63.3% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 361 votes (26.1% vs. 25.7%), Independent Chris Daggett with 116 votes (8.4% vs. 9.1%) and other candidates with 26 votes (1.9% vs. 1.3%), among the 1,382 ballots cast by the borough's 2,936 registered voters, yielding a 47.1% turnout (vs. 52.3% in the county).[72]
For ninth through twelfth grades, public school students attend Wallkill Valley Regional High School which also serves students from Hamburg Borough, Hardyston Township and Ogdensburg Borough, and is part of the Wallkill Valley Regional High School District.[76][77] As of the 2022–23 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 615 students and 50.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.3:1.[78] Seats on the high school district's nine-member board of education are allocated based on the populations of the constituent municipalities, with two seats assigned to Franklin.[79]
As of May 2010[update], the borough had a total of 26.87 miles (43.24 km) of roadways, of which 21.00 miles (33.80 km) were maintained by the municipality, 2.93 miles (4.72 km) by Sussex County and 2.94 miles (4.73 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.[80]
The main highway providing service to Franklin is Route 23.[81]County Route 517 also traverses the borough, mostly concurrent with Route 23.[82]
Public transportation
The county provides Skylands Ride bus service operating between Sussex and Newton.[83]
Media
WSUS is a Class A radio station with an adult contemporary format serving the Sussex County area on 102.3 FM, owned by iHeartMedia and licensed to Franklin.[84]
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Franklin include:
Gertrude M. Clarke (1932-2020), science educator who primarily taught high school physics and nucleonics and extensively engaged in nuclear physics research.[85]
Charles Joseph Fletcher (1922–2011), inventor and the owner / CEO of Technology General Corporation who developed an early version of the hovercraft[87]
^The Hospital Site Redevelopment Plan, Franklin Borough, revised August 8, 2017. Accessed January 14, 2018. "In terms of this redevelopment plan's consistency with other planning documents, the only municipality that is contiguous to this part of Franklin is Hardyston Township. Ogdensburg, Hamburg and Sparta are also contiguous to Franklin but those municipalities are far removed from the Hospital Site Redevelopment Area."
^History, Borough of Franklin. Accessed April 29, 2015. "Franklin, known as the Fluorescent Mineral Capital of the World, is located over a rich ore body containing more than 150 minerals, many of them fluorescent and 25 of which are found no where else on earth."
^Biography, Congressman Josh Gottheimer. Accessed January 3, 2019. "Josh now lives in Wyckoff, New Jersey with Marla, his wife who was a federal prosecutor, and their two young children, Ellie and Ben."
^About County Government, Sussex County, New Jersey. Accessed May 20, 2024. "Sussex County is governed by five (5) Commissioners who are elected by the voters of Sussex County. Each serves on the county’s Board of County Commissioners for a term of three (3) years, after which time they can seek re‐election or retire.... The Commissioners are elected at‐large to serve three‐year staggered terms. The five Commissioners elect a director from among themselves to run their meetings and to serve as a spokesperson for the board."
^Franklin Borough Board of Education Bylaw 0110 - Identification, Franklin Borough School District. Accessed March 7, 2024. "Composition: The Franklin School District shall be comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of the Borough of Franklin for the purpose of providing a program of education in grades Kindergarten through 8."
^Wallkill Valley Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Wallkill Valley Regional High School. Accessed march 7, 2024. "Purpose The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades nine through twelve in the Wallkill Valley Regional High School District. Composition The Wallkill Valley Regional High School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Franklin, Hamburg, Hardyston, and Ogdensburg."
^Gertrude Margaret Clarke obituary, The Star-Ledger, May 22, 2020. Accessed February 27, 2023. "Gert, as she was known to friends and family, was born on May 28th, 1932 in Franklin, N.J. She attended Franklin High, earned her baccalaureate degree from Douglass College in 1954, attended pre-doctoral courses at Rutgers University, and studied atomic, nuclear, and solid state physics at Yale University Graduate School."
^Staff. "Charles J. Fletcher: Obituary", New Jersey Herald, April 22, 2011. Accessed April 29, 2015. "Charles J. Fletcher, 88, died Wednesday, April 20, 2011, at Saint Clare's Hospital, in Sussex. Mr. Fletcher, son of the late Horace and Florence (Romyns) Fletcher was born in Franklin on Dec. 21, 1922."
^Staff. "Alfred B. Littell, Jersey Legislator", The New York Times, December 15, 1970. Accessed August 31, 2020. "The elder Mr. Littell had been mayor of Franklin in 1956 and 1957, and served as a Sussex County Freeholder in 1956."
^Staff. "Robert E. 'Bob' Littell: Obituary", New Jersey Herald, November 16, 2014. "Senator Robert E. 'Bob' Littell, 78, died after a long illness at his home surrounded by his family on Friday, Nov. 14, 2014. Born to the late Senator Alfred B. Littell and Dorothy A. Kershner in Orange, he was a lifelong resident of Franklin."
Jones Jr., Robert W. Nature's Hidden Rainbows : The Fluorescent Minerals of Franklin, New Jersey (San Gabriel, California: Ultra-Violet Products, Inc., 1964).
McCabe, Wayne T. and Kate Gordon. A Penny A View...An Album of Postcard Views...Franklin, N.J. (Newton, New Jersey: Historic Preservation Alternatives, 2000).
Truran, William R. Franklin, Hamburg, Ogdensburg, and Hardyston (Images of America). (Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2004).
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