<!--thumb|300px|Blackwells Mills Canal House in the Somerset section of Franklin Township-->

Franklin Township is a township in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is centrally located in the Raritan Valley region within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 68,364, The township was the state's 19th most-populous municipality in 2020, after being ranked 22nd in 2010.

Traditionally a farming community, it has become a fast-growing suburb with massive development in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, fostering a diverse blend of races, religions, and cultures. In 2008, Franklin Township ranked #5 on Money magazine's list of America's Top 100 Best Places to Live.

What is now Franklin Township was originally formed circa 1745 as Eastern precinct. Franklin Township was incorporated on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey's initial group of 104 townships by an act of the New Jersey Legislature. Portions of the township were taken to form South Bound Brook (formed within Township, became an independent municipality as of April 11, 1907) and East Millstone (formed on February 18, 1873, and returned to Franklin Township on December 31, 1949).

History

It has been unclear if the township was named for founding father Benjamin Franklin or for his illegitimate son William Franklin, a Loyalist and the last Royal Governor of New Jersey (from 1763 to 1776). In 2000, after considering the evidence set forth by William B. Brahms in his books Images of America: Franklin Township (1997) and Franklin Township, Somerset County, NJ: A History, and The Case for William Franklin and The Case for Benjamin Franklin, the Township Council chose the theory that the township was indeed named for Benjamin Franklin.

Franklin Township was very much a part of Revolutionary War history and the scene of many raiding parties along Route 27, then known as the King's Highway. Two British generals, Cornwallis and DeHeister, tried to lure General George Washington and his Continental Army into battle on the plains 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. In 1777, near the mill on the Millstone River at Weston, the Continental Army and local militia engaged and successfully drove off a British foraging party of about 600 troops, sent out of New Brunswick by General Cornwallis. On November 2, 1783, Washington composed his farewell address to the army while staying at Rockingham near Rocky Hill.

The construction of the Delaware and Raritan Canal in the 1830s, stretching to connect New York City and Philadelphia, led to significant growth in the township, with as much as 200,000 tons of goods shipped on barges using the canal by the 1860s. The rise of shipping commercial goods using railroads led to a substantial decline in canal traffic. The area has been restored as the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park

The Van Wickle House, located next to the Delaware and Raritan Canal in the Somerset section of the township, in between New Brunswick and South Bound Brook, was built in 1722 by Dutch settlers and is now owned by Franklin Township and leased by the Meadows Foundation. Set back behind Easton Avenue, the home adjoins the Rutgers Preparatory School and a Revolutionary War-era graveyard.

Passenger and freight railroad service was available in Franklin Township during the later half of the 19th century via the Millstone and New Brunswick Railroad (M&NB) which opened in 1854. The railroad was built and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), from a junction with the PRR mainline at Jersey Avenue in New Brunswick to East Millstone. The M&NB is now known as the Conrail Millstone Secondary Branch. The branch line was still operated by Conrail up to just west of Clyde Road in Somerset for a time, serving local industry in the industrial section of Somerset. As of 2011, Hermann Warehouse Corp re-located out of the Clyde Road facility and there has not been rail service into that building since then. A bumper was placed east of the Somerset Road/Route 27 crossing, with Clyde Road, Veronica Avenue and Route 27 crossings currently out of service. Jersey Avenue/Route 91 remains the sole active crossing on the line.

In 1922, the infamous Hall-Mills Murder took place in Franklin Township, in the area adjacent to New Brunswick known as Somerset.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 46.88 square miles (121.43&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), including 46.17 square miles (119.58&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 0.71 square miles (1.85&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of water (1.52%).

The township borders the municipalities of Bridgewater Township, Hillsborough Township, Manville, Millstone, Montgomery Township, Rocky Hill and South Bound Brook in Somerset County; Princeton in Mercer County; New Brunswick, North Brunswick, Piscataway and South Brunswick in Middlesex County.

Communities

thumb|left|The [[Delaware & Raritan Canal|D&R Canal in Griggstown during the Autumn months]]

The following are unincorporated communities and census-designated places (CDPs) located within Franklin Township:

  • Blackwells Mills (2010 CDP population of 803)
  • Clyde (2010 CDP population of 213)
  • East Franklin (2010 CDP population of 8,669)
  • East Millstone (2010 CDP population of 579)
  • East Rocky Hill (2010 CDP population of 469)
  • Franklin Center (2010 CDP population of 4,460)
  • Franklin Park (2010 CDP population of 13,295)
  • Griggstown (2010 CDP population of 819)
  • Kingston – officially designated as a Village Center by the New Jersey State Planning Commission. The Kingston Village Advisory Committee, jointly appointed by the Councils of Franklin and South Brunswick townships, advises Franklin on matters of concern to Kingston's residents. (2010 CDP population of 271 for portion of Kingston in Franklin Township)
  • Middlebush (2010 CDP population of 2,326)
  • Pleasant Plains (2010 CDP population of 922)
  • Six Mile Run (2010 CDP population of 3,184)
  • Somerset (2010 CDP population of 22,083)
  • Ten Mile Run (2010 CDP population of 1,959)
  • Voorhees CDP (2010 CDP population of 976)
  • Weston (2010 CDP population of 1,235)
  • Zarephath, religious community in western part of the township, centered around the Pillar of Fire Church (2010 CDP population of 37)

Other unincorporated communities, localities, and place names located partially or completely within the township include Hamilton Park and Rockingham.

Ecology

According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. potential natural vegetation types, Franklin Township would have an Appalachian Oak (104) vegetation type with an Eastern Hardwood Forest (25) vegetation form.

Demographics