History

Prior to establishment of the Port of Apalachicola in 1822, the county was occupied by Native Americans (primarily near the mouth of the Apalachicola River) for 10,000 years.

Named for Benjamin Franklin, Franklin County was established in 1832.   

Shipping cotton was the area’s first industry, helping to establish Apalachicola in 1831, and ensuring prosperous growth through the 1850s when Apalachicola became the third-largest port on the Gulf of Mexico.  With railroad expansion into Florida, large lumber mills were built to process lumber harvested from the area’s vast cypress forests.  Lumber magnates built luxurious homes in Apalachicola; many of these homes, in addition to cotton warehouses and other historic buildings, comprise the 200 buildings listed on the National Register in Apalachicola.

Oysters and other seafood including shrimp, fish and crabs also became an important industry in the late 1800s.  Today, Franklin County’s seafood industry accounts for $11 million annually, and more than 1,000 people are employed by the oyster industry in Franklin County (representing almost 10 percent of the county’s population).