Franklin County, Massachusetts

Franklin County Education, Geography, and History

Franklin County is a nongovernmental county located in the state of Massachusetts. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 71,372, which makes it the least-populous county on the Massachusetts mainland, and the third-least populous county in the state. Its largest community and traditional county seat is Greenfield.

Franklin County comprises the Greenfield Town, MA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Springfield-Greenfield Town, MA Combined Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Franklin County Name

For Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790), early American scientist, diplomat, and politician

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Franklin County History

Established 1811 from Hampshire County. County seat: Greenfield.

Franklin County is located in north central Massachusetts. It is bordered by the Massachusetts counties of Worcester to the east, Hampshire to the south, and Berkshire to the west. The Vermont counties of Bennington and Windham, and the New Hampshire county of Cheshire, are at its northern boundary.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 725 square miles (1,877 km²), of which, 702 square miles (1,818 km²) of it is land and 23 square miles (59 km²) of it (3.13%) is water. central southern Franklin is dominated by the northern end of the pioneer valley with steep hills slowly rising on either side of the Connecticut river.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Windham County, Vt.
• Northeast: Cheshire County, N.H.
• Southeast: Worcester County
• South: Hampshire County
• Southwest: Berkshire County
• Northwest: Bennington County, Vt.

Education

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