July 19 – Ice Cream Social
July 19 is National Ice Cream Day! We’re celebrating with an ice cream social. Join us at Open Hours from 1 to 4PM for a delicious ice cream treat! Our Meeting House is located at 6510 S. Franklin Road.
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Old Settlers Day wrapup
Thanks to everyone who came by our booth at the Old Settlers Day street fair in Wanamaker yesterday! We had great weather for the festival and a successful day at the FTHS booth, with plenty of new memberships and book sales. Special congratulations…
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Open Hours Changes & Special Events
Just a reminder that there will be no Open Hours during the month of June. This Saturday, June 6, is our Indoor Yard Sale, held at the Civic League building in Wanamaker (8822 Southeastern Avenue). Come by and find some great deals! The…
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Spring Cleaning? Donate Your Stuff!
The Franklin Township Historical Society is requesting donations for its upcoming “indoor yard sale,” to be held June 6th at the Franklin Township Civic League, 8822 Southeastern Ave. Proceeds from the sale will be used to help repair and maintain…
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Help preserve our Meeting House!
Our building, the former Big Run Baptist Church, was constructed in 1871 and needs continual maintenance and preservation work — from simple repairs like painting and tuckpointing, to big, expensive projects like replacing the roof, improving lot drainage, and replacing support…
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Gallery: Franklin Township Fire Department Honors
We have previously shared a bit about the township’s volunteer fire department, which was comprised of four stations. Today we present a gallery of a few of the honors they received in the years shortly before Franklin Township came under the umbrella of the…
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Postcard: New Bethel Church
During the late 19th and first half of the 20th century, postcards were an extremely popular form of communication. From purchased souvenir cards to custom photos printed on postcard-backed paper, postcards were the Instagram of their day — a quick snapshot and short message shared…
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Did You Know? Original Big Run Baptist Church
Did You Know? …That the first of the Big Run Baptist Church’s buildings was a frame structure, built in the fall of 1849, shortly after the church was organized in 1848? It was 28 by 40 feet, and cost $1,000….
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Did You Know? Auto Polo
Did You Know? …That Auto Polo was once a popular spectator sport, and for at least one man who later lived in Franklin Township, a sport in which he participated. The game was said to have been invented around 1912…
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Franklin Township History: The Smith/Henricks Family
In the 1820s, before the town of New Bethel had even been platted, settlers were arriving in other parts of the township. In 1825 Nehemiah Smith was an original patentee of 80 acres on Southport Road, and he also held…
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