Franklin County was named after Franklin D. Richards, an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it is the only Franklin County in the United States that is not named after Benjamin Franklin.
Bridgeport was located across Bear River at the mouth of Deep Creek, about two and one-half miles north and west of the present city of Preston.
Battle Creek was the setting for the Indian Massacre in 1863. Had a population of over 100 people. The Utah Northern Railroad was built to there in 1878 and it was made a division point in 1881. Battle Creek seemed to boom into a town almost overnight.
Clifton is located on the west side of the valley, at the foot of a beautiful chain of the Wasatch Mountains. It was named for the many jagged cliffs in the nearby canyons. Twin Lakes reservoir is located nearby and is a source of recreation and irrigation.
Weston is located in the southeast corner of Franklin County. By reason of its being the first settlement over the river on the west side of Cache Valley, it was first called Westtown and later the name was shortened to Weston. In 1922 the Weston High School basketball team were successful in winning the Intermountain Champtionship and a year later they went to Chicago and lost to the National team by three points.
Whitney is located just midway between Franklin and Preston along the highway. It was first known as “Hulls Crossing” and later was changed to Whitney in honor of Orsen F. Whitney, an Apostle in the LDS Church.
Preston is the County seat. Preston was first called “Worm Creek”. It is the banking and commerical center of Franklin County. It is situated on an eminence 200 feet above the rest of the valley.
Dayton is located across Bear River, west and about five miles from Preston. The place was first called “Chadville” then “Five Miles” (it being just five miles from Weston and five miles from Clifton). It was later called Dayton.
Treasureton is north of Preston on the old Bear River Highway in the midst of alfalfa and stock ranching. When the place was first settled, it belonged to Clifton Ward.
Mink Creek is along the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains, about 15 miles north-east of Preston.
Riverdale is about seven miles north of Preston.
Mapleton is situated about ten miles east of Preston. Cub River is a beautiful mountain stream that winds its way through the settlement.
Fairview is a small farming community just a few miles south of Preston. The Fairview ward formed a part of Lewiston ward until the organization of Oneida Stake.
Winder is rich dryfarm land that began as ‘sagebrush and jackrabbit country’. Most of the settlers arrived between 1890 and 1900.
Banida is on the county border, and was said to have been coined from the words Bannock and Oneida. It had a riotous beginning as a railroad terminus town in 1878, as a booming tent city known as Dunnville.
Coulam was located 3 miles northest of Clifton. At one time it was a business center with many nice homes, a store, an implement house, a confectionery, blacksmith shop and lumberyard. It had an active life span of about ten years.
Oxford‘s name is supposed to have originated in the days of the trappers and mountaineers who found tracks of an ox or oxen which had forded the stream near the present settlement. Residents now say it received its name because an ox drowned when some pioneers were crossing. Oxford was the County seat at one time.
Linrose was originally known as Roosevelt, with the Lincoln district to the west. Later, Emma Rich Bingham, coined the name Linrose from the first parts of Lincoln and Roosevelt.