Franklin County is situated in Southern Middle Tennessee on the Alabama-Tennessee border. It is bordered by Lincoln, Moore, Coffee, Grundy and Marion Counties in Tennessee and by Jackson and Madison Counties in Alabama. Huntsville, Alabama lies 45 miles to the southwest; Chattanooga some 65 miles to the east; Nashville about 80 miles to the northwest. The county is served by CSX Transportation, Inc. and is serviced by U.S. Highway 64, State Highway 41-A, State Highway 127, State Highway 56, State Highway 130 and State Highway 50. Interstate 24, connecting Nashville and Chattanooga, passes by the county at Monteagle (Exit 134). A four-lane connector road at Pelham (Exit 127) also accesses the county. The county covers 553 square miles and has a population of 40,512.
Franklin County is a diverse county with beautiful mountains, green valleys, competitive fishing on Tim’s Ford Lake and rich agriculture. Franklin County producers generate approximately sixty two million dollars annually through the sale of farm products. Corn, wheat, soybeans, cotton, hay, swine, beef, dairy, poultry and nursery production comprise the major areas of production on some 1100 farms. Thirty seven percent (131,976 acres) of the county’s 358,400 acres of land is devoted to agriculture production.
The Franklin County Extension Service strives to disseminate research based information to the citizens of Franklin County in an effort to improve their quality of life. We accomplish this through county-wide programing including: field days, classes, seminars, tours, school clubs and community groups.