Franklin is a city in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2010 census, the population was 8,477,[2] the least of any of New Hampshire's 13 cities. As of 2018, the population was an estimated 8,712.[1] Franklin includes the village of West Franklin.
Situated at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers that form the Merrimack River, the town was settled by Anglo-European colonists in 1764 and originally known as Pemigewasset Village. It was taken from portions of Salisbury, Andover, Sanbornton and Northfield. The name Franklin was adopted in 1820 in honor of statesman and founding father Benjamin Franklin. Water power from the falls helped it develop as a mill town.[3] It would incorporate as a town in 1828, and then as a city in 1895.
Daniel Webster was born in a section of Franklin that was then part of Salisbury. There is a state historic site located off Route 127 that preserves the famous orator's childhood home. As an adult, Webster owned "The Elms", a farm near the Merrimack River along present-day Route 3.
In 1943, the Army Corps of Engineers created the Franklin Falls Reservoir above Franklin by constructing the Franklin Falls Dam for flood control on the Pemigewasset River.