Marty Campanelli

An interesting pictorial history of Franklin Township and its beginnings. Franklin Township is a picturesque, rural oasis with rich soils and sparkling streams in the heart of Hunterdon County. Settled in the early 1700s by Quakers, it was touched by the Revolutionary War. Although the township was never occupied by British troops, New Jersey deputy quartermaster general Moore Furman's gristmill supplied flour for George Washington's troops. Its beginnings as a farming and milling community remain at the heart of Franklin. Agriculture continues to hold cultural, historic, and scenic importance, and Hiram Deats, who manufactured a cast-iron plow patented by his father, John, in 1828, is still honored. Charming villages and hamlets boast 99 historic stone structures and 183 frame homes built before 1900. This idyllic area stands as proof that nature and bucolic farmland still hold sway in one of the nation's most densely populated states.