Franklin (Missouri)

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Franklin
Howard County Missouri Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Franklin Highlighted.svg
Location in Missouri
Basic data
State : United States
State : Missouri
County : Howard County
Coordinates : 39 ° 1 ′  N , 92 ° 45 ′  W Coordinates: 39 ° 1 ′  N , 92 ° 45 ′  W
Time zone : Central ( UTC − 6 / −5 )
Residents : 112 (status: 2000)
Population density : 186.7 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 0.6 km 2  (approx. 0 mi 2 ) of
which 0.6 km 2  (approx. 0 mi 2 ) is land
Height : 182 m
Postal code : 65250
Area code : +1 660
FIPS : 29-25624
GNIS ID : 0718163

Franklin is a small town ( city ) in Howard County in the US state of Missouri . The place named after Benjamin Franklin is on the north bank of the Missouri River , about 160 km upriver from St. Louis and across from Boonville .

The region was settled from 1808 to take advantage of the saline springs discovered by the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804/05 . In the mid-1810s, Franklin was the westernmost settlement on the Missouri River and the terminus for regular keelboat traffic on the river. Salt works were the economic basis of the settlement. The brine was heated in open kettles, the salt dried and shipped to St. Louis by boat. In 1819 the only newspaper west of St. Louis was printed here. The Missouri Intelligencer and Boonslick Advertiser was the news paper for the dispersed settlers on the frontier of civilization.

William Becknell started here in 1821 on his first trade train through the prairies and deserts of what would later become Kansas to Santa Fe, 1300 km away, then still in Mexico . After he returned from the month-long journey with great profit, three other dealers set out next year, the foundation stone for the Santa Fe Trail was laid.

The place benefited from overland trade for only a few years, as the Missouri River overflowed its banks in 1828 and severely damaged the settlement. Most of the residents built New Franklin about a kilometer away and slightly higher . Only a few stayed in the old place. In 1993 another flood destroyed the monuments erected for the victims at the time.

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