The Town of Franklin’s great claim to fame is that it is the first town named for the great 18th century polymath, Benjamin Franklin, born January 17, 1706. Ben Franklin, in his wisdom, repaid the compliment of the town with a generous gift of books which the town’s people turned into the first free public lending library in North America. The town’s relationships to books and education was further cemented by Horace Mann, the ”father” of American Public education, who educated himself in large part through the books donated by Ben. The library’s future was sustained by people like Oliver Dean, who also founded Dean Academy (now Dean College). In addition, thanks to this ‘learned core’ of people and books, a number of important authors and writers have called Franklin home.

Today, with the town’s growth and a renewed focus on arts and culture, our literary and library past should be celebrated and our embrace of and support for those who write, whether they be poets, novelists, essayists, historians, or humorists – and those who appreciate their words, whether through reading, listening, or performance, needs to be emphasized.

The Franklin Historical Museum is a lead sponsor of the new Ben Franklin Book Week, which will include a full public reading of Ben Franklin’s autobiography, featuring volunteer readers on his birthday, Wednesday, January 17th. Many other events are planned that week at the museum and at our partners, the Franklin Public Library and Escape into Fiction Book Store. Watch the event website for details at www.benfranklinbookweek.com as well as the museum’s Facebook page. 

This inaugural BFBW is made possible by a grant from the Franklin Cultural District Committee. This will be the first of an annual event geared towards honoring our town’s namesake and educating our community and students of the many contributions Ben Franklin made to our country as an ambassador and to the world as a printer, publisher and scientist.