Franklin, Pennsylvania

== History ==
[[File:McLaurin(1902) pic.063 ANGELL & PRENTICE's Wells below Franklin, PA, in 1873.jpg|thumb|left|Oil wells near Franklin in 1873]]
Franklin is located at the confluence of [[French Creek (Allegheny River tributary)|French Creek]] and the [[Allegheny River]], an important site used for centuries by Native Americans. They had long before developed what became known as the [[Venango Path]], passing from the head of French Creek north to [[Presque Isle Bay]] on [[Lake Erie]]. Via French Creek and the Allegheny River, the portage effectively linked the waterways of the Ohio River and the Great Lakes.

In 1740, Scottish fur trader [[John Fraser (botanist)|John Fraser]] built a trading post here at  Venango, the [[Lenape]] village. The French also had designs on this region.

They wanted to link their colonies of New France (Quebec) north of the Great Lakes, in Illinois Country (accessible via the Ohio River), and [[La Louisiane]], on the lower Mississippi River. As tensions increased between France and Great Britain prior to the onset of the [[French and Indian War]] (as the North American front of the [[Seven Years' War]] was called), the French constructed four forts to control their continued access to the Venango Path and these important waterways. From north to south they were [[Fort Presque Isle]], [[Fort Le Boeuf]] (at the south end of the portage and head of French Creek), [[Fort Machault]], and [[Fort Duquesne]], at the Forks of the Ohio.

In December 1753, [[George Washington]], then a 21-year-old major in the Virginia militia, was sent to [[Fort Le Boeuf]] to warn the French that they were trespassing on British land and should leave. Although providing respite to Washington and his party, the fort commander gave him a letter suggesting that the Governor of Virginia should instead deliver his message to the French commander in Quebec, New France.<ref>''Nos racines, l'histoire vivante des Québécois'', Éditions Comémorative, Livre-Loisir Ltée. p457</ref>

The French maintained this and their other three forts, including at Fort Machault until July 1759, when they surrendered [[Fort Niagara]] to the British. At that time, the commander of Fort Presque Isle sent orders to the commanders of Fort Le Boeuf and Fort Machault to abandon their positions and return north. Before leaving, the French troops burned both of these forts to the ground to prevent their use by the British.

In 1760, the British erected [[Fort Venango]] here, replacing Fort Marchault. In 1763, Native Americans allied with the French killed many British. The British colonists had repeatedly attacked even neutral tribes, such as the Lenape, who then mostly allied with the French. After the war, the British Americans constructed [[Fort Franklin (Pennsylvania)|Fort Franklin]] here, named after [[Benjamin Franklin]].

In 1787 [[Andrew Ellicott]], who surveyed [[Washington, D.C.]], was hired to lay out the town of Franklin, which had developed around the fort. It became a trading center for a largely rural, agricultural region. Once oil was discovered in the late 19th century in nearby [[Titusville, Pennsylvania|Titusville]], Franklin became a booming oil town. After other fields were discovered in Texas and Oklahoma, and oil companies moved west, Franklin developed an industry of machinery companies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://franklinpa.gov/history|title=Franklin History|website=franklinpa.gov|language=en|access-date=2020-04-29}}</ref>