Named after Benjamin Franklin and established on March 1, 1843, Franklin Parish was created from parts of three neighboring parishes, Catahoula, Ouachita, and Madison. Discovery of Franklin Parish was purely by accident. Two keelboats on Little Bouef River, laden with machinery, ran aground here. The machinery in one was said to able to gin cotton at the breathtaking rate of four bales a day. the other boat held a massive iron contrivance that could "cut more cypress boards in a day than fifty men". After unsuccessful efforts to free the boats from the sandbar, the boatmen decided to make camp here, and the settlement was born.

The parish seat of Franklin is Winnsboro. With an area totally 623.4square miles, FranklinParish has 13 schools, 44 churches, and 1 airport.

Agriculture: soybeans, cotton, and livestock.
Industry: Sustan garment factory, Mastercrafters (boat building), and Franklin Mobile Homes.

Winnsboro, with a population over 5,000, is the parishes major city.