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 – Adams County
E – Whitman County and Columbia County
W – Benton County and Grant County
Created: November 28, 1883 
County Seat:
Ainsworth 1883 – 1887
Pasco 1887 – present
County Courthouse – Pasco
Location: 1016 North 4th Avenue / West Margaret Street
Built: 1912 – 1913
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: C Lewis Willson & Company of Seattle
Contractor: Misho & Grant General Contractors of Seattle
Description: The building faces east and is a three story brown colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Pasco. The building has a raised basement. The east front has a large portico with two columns rising to a pediment above the second story. The first story has large arched windows. A wide horizontal band runs below the cornice which runs below the roof line. On the center of the roof is a black colored dome with clock. In the interior, the central rotunda is the most arresting space. The cream colored marble coupled with azure and gold accents provide a space that is at once comfortable and elegant. Floors are finished in white colored tile with a meander pattern in gray, black, and brown radiating from the center of the floor. A porcelain drinking fountain occupies the point of the intersection of the meander a decorative arch appears above each of eight entrances or doorways and a cartouche with the letter “F” is fitted into each arch. Pendentives feature special lighting globes hung from brass cartouche. Illuminated by the drum clerestory, the cut glass dome is 36 feet in diameter and features the names of county towns within elaborate cartouches. The County Superior Court courtroom is located on the third story. The building houses the County Superior Court and the County District Court. The building was restored in 2006. The architect was CKJT Architects of Kennewick and Cardwell Architects of Seattle and the contractor was Lydig Construction, Inc. of Spokane. The addition on the west side was constructed in 1971. The architect was Mark Pence and the contractor was George A Grant Construction Company.
See: The architect C Lewis Willson & Company of Seattle also designed the courthouse in Pacific County.
See: The Juvenile Court is located across the Columbia River in Kennewick in Benton County.
See: The Judicial District includes Benton County.
History: The county was created in 1883 and Ainsworth was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a log structure built in Ainsworth in 1884 at a cost of $800. In 1887, the county seat and the courthouse were moved to a site in Pasco. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1912 to 1913 at a cost of $82,000. The cost of construction of the addition was $1,166,000.
County Courthouse – Pasco
County Superior Court courthouse
County Courthouse and Addition
Photos taken 2009 and 2016