Franklin, New Jersey

Franklin, New Jersey
Borough
House in Franklin
Seal
Nickname:  Fluorescent Mineral Capital of the World[1]
Location of Franklin in Sussex County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Sussex County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
Census Bureau map of Franklin, New Jersey
Franklin Location in Sussex County Show map of Sussex County, New Jersey Franklin Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Franklin Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 41°06′32″N 74°35′19″W / 41.108997°N 74.588641°W / 41.108997; -74.588641[2][3]
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Sussex
Incorporated	April 23, 1913
Named for	Benjamin Franklin
Government [8]
• Type	Borough
• Body	Borough Council
• Mayor	John M. Sowden IV (R, term ends December 31, 2027)[4][5]
• Administrator	Vacant[6]
• Municipal clerk	Darlene J. Tremont[7]
Area [9]
• Total	4.43 sq mi (11.47 km2)
• Land	4.36 sq mi (11.28 km2)
• Water	0.07 sq mi (0.19 km2)  1.60%
• Rank	284th of 565 in state 17th of 24 in county[2]
Elevation [10]	541 ft (165 m)
Population  (2020)[11]
• Total	4,912
• Estimate  (2023)[12]	5,008
• Rank	378th of 565 in state 10th of 24 in county[13]
• Density	1,127.6/sq mi (435.4/km2)
• Rank	369th of 565 in state 7th of 24 in county[13]
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07416[14][15]
Area code(s)	973 exchanges: 209, 823, 827[16]
FIPS code	3403724930[2][17][18]
GNIS feature ID	0885224[2][19]
Website	www.franklinborough.org

Franklin is a borough in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,912,^[11] a decrease of 133 (−2.6%) from the 2010 census count of 5,045,^[20][21] which in turn reflected a decline of 115 (−2.2%) from the 5,160 counted in the 2000 census.^[22]

Franklin, known as the "Fluorescent Mineral Capital of the World,"^[23] is located over a rich ore body containing more than 150 minerals, many of them fluorescent and 25 of which are found nowhere else on earth. Settled in the 17th century, the village known as Franklin Furnace after Benjamin Franklin,^[24][25][26] developed near iron mines and iron smelting operations located along the Wallkill River. In the early 19th century, zinc deposits in the area began to be developed commercially. For most of the century many small companies mined zinc and iron in the Franklin area. In 1897 all zinc mining efforts merged into the New Jersey Zinc Company, which was a major controlling factor in the development of Franklin. Immigrants from Russia, Britain, Hungary and Poland joined the work force at the mine. The population, 500 in 1897, had swelled to 3,000 by 1913. On March 18, 1913, the Borough of Franklin was incorporated from portions of Hardyston Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 23, 1913.^[27]