Home • The municipality • Portrait • History & heritage
History & heritage
The municipality of Franklin was officially recognized in 1857. Franklin was named in memory of Sir John Franklin (1786-1847), an English explorer who travelled to the mouth of the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories.
However, it was not until 1973 that it obtained its current status following the merger of the township of Franklin and the parish of Saint-Antoine-Abbé-Partie-Nord-Est.
Discover
Our little story
Curé Labelle
The two main cores of Franklin are geographically located as follows: Saint-Antoine-Abbé at the intersection of Highway 201 and Highway 209; and Franklin-Centre at the intersection of Highway 202 and Highway 209. In addition, the municipality includes the rural area of Doréa and the localities of Maritana and Bridgetown.
Settlement of the Franklin lands began early. The first settler named Asa Smith settled there around 1788. A decade later, around the beginning of the 19th century, other people settled there from the United States, Ireland and England.
The first Franklin Centre School was built in 1830 and the Township of Franklin was incorporated as a detachment from Hemmingford Township in 1857.
Curé Labelle
A legendary figure known to all Quebecers, it was at Saint-Antoine-Abbé that Antoine Labelle (Curé Labelle) was employed in his first office as priest at the Church of Saint-Antoine-Abbé, from 1859 to 1863, appointed by the bishop of the diocese of Montreal, Monseigneur Ignace Bourget. Father Labelle was the first to occupy the manse, a building still in place and in very good condition, although its vocation has changed over the years. The young parish priest had to face both sharp disagreements among his Catholic peers and a strong Protestant presence. Even though he already asserted his qualities as a leader of men by overcoming these obstacles, he was nevertheless constantly monitored. Sometimes he secretly confessed to his bishop that he regretted his priesthood, and that he would have liked to be able to hide in a monastery at times.
Beset by financial difficulties, he had incurred debts. Father Labelle was very vocal against his fellow priests emigrating to the United States, but crushed under the weight of debt and against his will, on November 12, 1867, he asked his bishop to let him leave for an American diocese where a higher salary would allow him to settle his debts and pay a pension to his mother. Rather than approve his request, on May 15th, he was appointed parish priest of the prosperous parish of Saint-Jérôme, a position he held until his death. Father Labelle would later become one of the main characters in the television series Les Belles Histoires des Pays d’en Haut (1956-1970), a classic of the Quebec television landscape.
In 1868, the post office under the name of Franklin Centre was opened.
Patrimony
According to the Conseil du Patrimoine Religieux du Québec, the municipality of Franklin has several places of worship with a rich heritage. These are the Christ Church built in 1899, the Franklin United Church located in the village core of Franklin Centre and built in the 1870s and the church of Saint-Antoine-Abbé built at the same time.
Other elements that appear in the Répertoire du Patrimoine Culturel du Québec are the cemetery of Saint-Antoine-Abbé, with its calvary (sacred place) located at the back of the church, and the manse of the church of Saint-Antoine-Abbé.
Christ Church
- 1180, route 202, Franklin
- (QC) J0S 1E0
Église Franklin United
- 1675, route 202, Franklin
- (QC) J0S 1E0
Église de Saint-Antoine-Abbé
- 2514, QC-209, Saint-Antoine-Abbé
- (QC) J0S 1N0
Cimetière de Saint-Antoine-Abbé et Calvaire
- 2530, QC-209, Saint-Antoine-Abbé
- (QC) J0S 1N0