Franklinville, NC

Franklinville grew where Deep River could do industrial work. A grist and sawmill operated at the falls by 1801, and the first cotton factory arrived in 1838. The town was incorporated in 1847 as North Carolina’s first mill-village government, taking its name from former governor Jesse Franklin. Two early communities, Franklinsville and Island Ford, developed along the river, with mill buildings, worker housing, stores, churches, and homes stepping up the terraces above the water.

Franklinville’s history carries a political edge as well as an industrial one. Many early residents were Quakers or abolitionists, and the mills made cotton underwear for soldiers under Union military supervision during the Civil War. The Franklinville Historic District, listed on the National Register, preserves much of that mill-town landscape, while Faith Rock rises from Deep River upstream of the old mills. Today, US 64 and local roads connect the town to Asheboro and Randleman, and a planned trail follows the river through the historic center toward Cedar Falls. Franklinville is a North Carolina town where waterpower, worker neighborhoods, and reform-minded history still sit in the same valley.