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FRANKLIN,
TEXASRobertson
County Seat, Central
Texas South
Hwys 79 & 46
32 miles N of Bryan
(via State Highway 6)
Population: 1,470 (2000) 1,336 (1990) |
History
in a Pecan Shell
In 1879 the voters agreed to move the county seat
to Morgan from Calvert. Morgan was a more
central location in Robertson County.
Post Offices are important to
county seats and since there was already a Morgan, Texas, they reverted to the
name of the original county seat - Franklin.
Their first school was
built in 1881 and burned three years later. A huge windstorm in 1913 destroyed
every public building in Robertson County, including Franklin's four churches. |
The
Carnegie Library in Franklin
TE Photo |
The 1914
Carnegie Library is perhaps more striking than the courthouse (allowing for
it's smaller size). One of only five Carnegie
Libraries still being used for its original purpose (out of 31) in Texas,
this one once had it's basement filled with sand to curtail mosquito breeding.
The basement also served as a changing room for Franklin High School sports teams.
It is perhaps the only Carnegie Library in the state to display a portrait of
Andrew Carnegie.
In 1908 The Carnegie Foundation changed from the Greek
Revival and Beaux-Arts styles to more modest single story structures. The lecture
halls or stage areas were assigned to basements after 1908. Although this building
was built after the "grand" libraries of Belton, Terrell and Ballinger, it maintains
an elegance that many other two-story libraries lack.
Book Your Hotel Here & Save: Franklin
Hotels |
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The
Grave of the last Civil War Soldier
In the Mt. Pleasant Church Cemetery,
about four miles SE from Franklin on FM 2446, you'll find the final resting place
of Walter Williams, last soldier of either side to die. Walter served in the Confederacy. |
Tallest Man
in the World
(From
Sideshow Texans by Mike
Cox) James
Grover Tarver was born in Franklin in 1885. He grew up to a strapping eight-foot-two
and hit the circuit in 1909. He worked for four different circuses, billed either
as the Texas Giant or Tallest Man in the World. “I was a cowboy until I got bigger
than the pony,” he told crowds. Tarver stayed in show business until 1933. |
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