Franklin Township is a township in central Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 3,267, Most of the township lies on the Hunterdon Plateau with only the eastern section along the South Branch Raritan River being on the lower part of the Newark Basin.
History
Long populated by the Lenape (Delaware) Native Americans, the first European settlement of present-day Franklin was around 1700, when it became a Quaker community of settlers who came from Burlington County. The most reliable records that are available about the early days of the Township are found in the minutes of the Friends' Meeting in Quakertown.
Franklin Township was established by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 7, 1845, when it was created from portions of Kingwood Township, based on the results of a referendum held that day. Portions of the township were taken to form Clinton town on April 5, 1865. The township was named for Benjamin Franklin.
The rich soil made the township a center of agriculture for hundreds of years. While Franklin Township had long hosted a major dairy farming industry, in modern times, the primary crops have been corn, hay and soybeans. Pittstown, previously known as Hoffs, is also spread across Alexandria Township and Union Township.