Franklin Township is a township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township’s populace was 62,300, mirroring an expansion of 11,397 (+22.4%) from the 50,903 tallied in the 2000 Census, which had thus expanded by 8,123 (+19.0%) from the 42,780 checked in the 1990 Census.
Traditionally a farming group, it has turned into a quickly developing suburb with massive development in the later 20th and 21st centuries as a diverse blend of races, religions and cultures. In 2008, Franklin Township positioned #5 on Money magazine’s list of America’s Top 100 Best Places to Live.
What is now Franklin Township was initially formed circa 1745 as Eastern area. Franklin Township was consolidated on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey’s underlying group of 104 townships by a demonstration of the New Jersey Legislature. 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).
History
The history of Franklin Township and the Raritan Valley was largely influenced by the Dutch settlers who came around 1650. They settled around there by exchanging and expecting land with the Raritan Indians.
No document exists to prove conclusively whether the Township was named for William Franklin, Governor of New Jersey from 1762 to 1776, or Benjamin Franklin. In 2000, the Township Council confirmed that it was alluring to official embrace a hypothesis with regards to the naming of the Township.
After considering the evidence set forth in Franklin Township, Somerset County, NJ: A History, William B. Brahm, Commissioned by the Franklin Township Library, 1998, Municipal Government, The Case for William Franklin and The Case for Benjamin Franklin, the Township Council resolved to uphold the hypothesis that the Township was named for Benjamin Franklin.
Franklin Township was very much a part of the Revolutionary War History and the scene of many raiding parties along Route 27, then known as the King’s Highway. In fact, two British commanders, Cornwallis and DeHeister, attempted to draw General Washington into battle on the fields of Middlebush and East Millstone.
Washington, however, kept his troops at Chimney Rock, just north of Franklin, until the British withdrew. Several of the prosperous Middlebush farms were destroyed by the British soldiers during their retreat. Washington’s farewell address was delivered to his army in Little Rocky Hill in 1783.
One of the most important improvements for Franklin was the working of the Delaware-Raritan Canal in 1834. Twenty-two miles of this persistent water course from New York to Philadelphia goes through the Township. During the Civil War, up to 200,000 tons of freight were hauled by mule and horse-drawn barges, a great economic boon for the area.
The building of the railways prompted the decay of this once effective method of transportation. Today the trench is the wellspring of drinking water and gives recreation to territory occupants and visitors to the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park.
Points of Interest
- The Blackwells Mills Canal House, located at Blackwells Mills Road and Canal Road (598 Canal Road, Somerset) on the Delaware and Raritan Canal, was fabricated c. 1830s, in the meantime as the waterway. It was constructed to house the bridge tender, who might open the swing bridge when canal boats came through, then close it to allow traffic to cross over the canal.The building is rented from the State and is kept up and worked by the Blackwells Mills Canal House Association in conjunction with the Meadows Foundation.
- The Franklin Inn, at 2371 Amwell Road (Route 514), East Millstone, NJ a farmhouse manufactured c. 1752 by Cornelius Van Liew, it has also been known as Annie Van Liew’s House and, after being remodeled into a tavern and inn, the Franklin House Hotel.
The Hageman Farm, at 209 South Middlebush Road, is a c. 1861 historic farm. Owned by Franklin Township, the ranch is under the stewardship of the Meadows Foundation. - Rockingham State Historic Site, close Kingston on CR 603 (Somerset County), adjoining the Delaware and Raritan Canal. George Washington composed his Farewell Address to the Revolutionary Army while remaining here in the fall of 1783.
- Spieden and Hoebel Farms, Little Valley Natural Area is a 120-section of land (0.49 km2) zone at 1327 and 1345 Canal Road with a few miles of trails through backwoods and along field edges. Across Canal Road is access to the Delaware and Raritan Canal tow way and the Millstone River and surge plain.
- Tulipwood, at 1165 Hamilton Street, is a c. 1892 designed by J. August Lienau, the son of Detlef Lienau for his brother-in-law Stephen Guion Williams whose family owned the Williams & Guion Black Star Line. The home is owned by Franklin Township.
- The Ukrainian Cultural Center at 135 Davidson Avenue, fills in as the headquarters of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA and includes the following at the site (some open by appointment only):
- The Ukrainian Historical and Educational Center, established in 1972, which contains treasures of Ukrainian cultural, historical, social, religious, literary and political life including Easter eggs, lacework, hand embroidery, statuary and church vessels.
- The Ukrainian Cultural Center, dedicated in 1985.
- St. Andrew Ukrainian School, founded in 1962 and situated in the Cultural Center.
- St. Andrew Bookstore and Ecclesiastical Supply, established in 1992.
- The memorable Fisher Homestead, worked in 1688, the home of Hendrick Fisher, New Jersey’s delegate to the Continental Congress, and the site of the Fisher Family Cemetery.
- St. Sophia Seminary and Library, founded in 1975.
- St. Andrew Memorial Church, completed and consecrated in 1967 in memory of the 7-14 million people who died in the Ukrainian famine of 1932-33 is a one of a kind case of Ukrainian Cossak Baroque engineering in the area.
- St. Andrew Cemetery , founded in 1952.
- The Van Liew-Suydam House, at 280 South Middlebush Road, was built in the eighteenth century by Peter Van Liew. Joseph Suydam later built the piece of the house that is visible today. The newest and largest portion of the house was built in 1875. Although the most recent long term owner of the house was named French, the house has been named after its two initial owners. Owned by Franklin Township, the farm is under the stewardship of the Meadows Foundation.
- The Van Wickle House, at 1289 Easton Avenue is a noteworthy house assembled c. 1722 by Symen Van Wickle. Worked by the Meadows Foundation which holds special annual events here.
- The Wyckoff-Garretson House, at 215 South Middlebush Road, was built in 1730 by Cornelius Wyckoff. The house was reestablished by the Meadows Foundation under the direction of architect Mark Alan Hewitt.