Franklin, WI

Franklin became a city in 1956 largely because residents wanted to prevent Milwaukee from annexing pieces of the community. Town officials even counted inmates at the House of Correction when demonstrating that Franklin met the population threshold for incorporation. The earlier town, formed in 1839 and named for Benjamin Franklin, had remained predominantly rural for more than a century. Hardwood forest originally covered much of its land, and the Root River furnished nearly all of its drainage. In 2020, the census counted 36,816 residents across 34.58 square miles of land. That broad footprint on Milwaukee County's southern edge still accommodates residential districts alongside river corridors and sizable public open spaces. The city maintains 173 acres of parkland, seven miles of bike trails, and fifteen recreation facilities. Its 38.4-acre Franklin Woods Nature Center site includes paved and limestone paths, an accessible play structure, a pavilion, and a pond.

Within the much larger Whitnall Park, Milwaukee County's Wehr Nature Center protects 220 acres of woodland, wetland, prairie, and oak savanna. More than five miles of nature trails include a one-mile accessible boardwalk loop around wetland habitat and a route along Mallard Lake to the Root River. The county's Oak Leaf Trail also follows the Root River corridor to the Milwaukee County Sports Complex in Franklin. Indoors, Franklin Public Library's CreateSpace lends many of its crafting tools, baking supplies, and technology kits for home use. The city's summer 2026 calendar adds free concerts at Lions Legend Park and a playground-passport program that sends families to parks throughout Franklin.