Franklin County is named for Benjamin Franklin, who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and who lived from 1706 to 1790.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Liberty County and Wakulla County
E – Gulf of Mexico
S – Gulf of Mexico
W – Gulf County
Created: March 11, 1832 
County Seat:
Apalachicola 1832 – 1841
St. Joseph (Gulf) 1836 – 1841
Apalachicola 1841 – present
County Courthouse – Apalachicola
Location: 33 Market Street / Avenue C
Built: 1939 – 1940
Style: Art Deco and Roman
Architect: Warren, Knight & Davis of Birmingham, Alabama
Contractor: A J Honeycutt Company Inc.
Description: The building faces west and is a two story buff colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Apalachicola. The west front extends from the main building and has a recessed porch with two large columns rising to a wide header. A projecting cornice runs below the roof line. There is stone trim along the corners and the roof line is flat. In the interior, the large County Circuit Court courtroom is located on the second story. The courtroom has a high ceiling. The building houses the Circuit Court of the 2nd Judicial Circuit and County Court. The building was a Works Progress Administration project. The building was enlarged in 1969. The architect was Norman Gross and the contractor was Kalmetz Construction Company. The building was further enlarged in 1978 to 1979 with a three story addition on the east side. The architect was G Michael George & Associates and the contractor was Whitesell-Green Inc.. Renovations were made in 2008 and the architect was Johnson Peterson and the contractor was Peter Brown.
See: The architect, Warren, Knight & Davis of Birmingham, Alabama, designed courthouses in Gulf County and Walton County and in Alabama in Elmore County and Lawrence County.
County Courthouse Annex – Apalachicola
Location: 34 Forbes Street / Commerce Street
Built: 2001 – 2002
Style: Modern
Architect: Bay Design Associates
Contractor: The Ingram Group, LLC.
Description: The building faces north and is a one story light brown colored brick and concrete structure. The building faces north and was completed in 2002. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Apalachicola on the south side of the courthouse. The north front has a central projecting concrete section with three rectangular openings and recessed entrance. The windows are vertical and narrow, a wide concrete belt runs below the flat roof line. In the interior is a large County Circuit Court courtroom located at the center of the building.
See: The 2nd Judicial Circuit includes Gadsden County, Jefferson County, Leon County, Liberty County and Wakulla County.
See: The county is located in the First Judicial District of the Court of Appeal – First Judicial District located in Tallahassee.
History: The county was created in 1832 and Apalachicola was selected as the county seat. In 1836, St. Joseph (Gulf County) assumed the county seat but was destroyed by a hurricane and the county seat returned to Apalachicola in 1841. The first courthouse was erected and was burned in 1887. The second courthouse was designed by McDonald Brothers of Louisville, Kentucky and constructed by Will L Landrum in 1892. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1939 to 1940. The County Courthouse Annex was constructed in 2001 to 2002.
County Courthouse - Apalachicola
County Circuit Court courtroom
County Courthouse Annex - Apalachicola
County Circuit Court courtroom
Photos taken 2009 and 2023