Franklin was first established in 1796 as a sleepy collection of cabins along the beautiful Great Miami River. When the Miami Canal came through the village in 1829, and the railroad followed in the 1870s, many new industries came to the area, and the downtown filled with fine brick and stone residences, businesses, churches, and public buildings. The town prospered through the 19th century, and the proud community's leaders proclaimed a grand celebration of its past, present, and envisioned future: the Franklin
Homecoming of 1910. Just three years later, Franklin was struck by the greatest calamity in its history, the Flood of 1913. Though Franklin quickly recovered, it soon left its past behind, as it became a modern city in a rapidly changing nation. Through vintage images of buildings, businesses, and people now gone and forgotten, Franklin brings to life the town's rich history, from its beginnings to 1920.