About Franklin Township

The Township of Franklin was settled during the period preceding the Revolutionary War. Its name was in honor of Benjamin Franklin.

On February 15, 1839, the General Assembly of New Jersey ordered that part of the existing Greenwich, Oxford, and Mansfield Townships be separated and called the Township of Franklin in the County of Warren.

Franklin Township is a rural area of 24 square miles consisting of 12,621 acres.

Franklin Township includes part of the Pohatcong Mt. and Scotts Mt. range and has parts of the Musconetcong and Pohatcong rivers running through its borders.

Within the Township of Franklin are three villages: Asbury, Broadway, and New Village.

Asbury, settled prior to the Revolutionary War was originally known as Hall's Mills, named after the Hall family who operated gristmills on the Musconectcong River. The town was known by this name until 1796 when it was changed in honor of Bishop Francis Asbury.

Broadway received its name from the Morris Turnpike which was one of the major roads from Easton, Pennsylvania to Morristown, New Jersey. The road was completed in 1811 and a small village developed in this area. Broadway literally got its name because the road was very wide in this area.

New Village was first settled in the early 1800's. Due to the activity with the Morris Canal and later a trolley system that went from Port Colden to Phillipsburg, New Jersey, several buildings were erected and slowly the village began to grow. In 1898, Thomas A. Edison found a valuable deposit of cement rock underlying the valley and built a large cement mill there. In 1925, this area established electric lights which led to the further settlement of New Village.

Franklin Township has two Post Offices, one in Broadway, New Jersey, and the other in Asbury, New Jersey. It houses one elementary school, grades K-6, on Broadway-Asbury Road.

Franklin Township is serviced by two volunteer emergency groups: The Franklin Township Rescue Squad and the Franklin Township Fire Department.

Originally, the Franklin Township Municipal Building was in the village of Broadway on Route #57 in the building that was a two room school house.

In 1995, the Township had a need for more office space as well as a larger meeting room. The township purchased the building formally known as D&S Flooring, just east of the village, for this purpose. This building now houses all of the municipal offices.

In 2005, the township opened a 9,000 sq ft community center which is used by local sport and civic organizations.

The Government in Franklin Township is run by a five person Township Committee. Each Committee member is elected by the residents. The Township Committee then appoints a Mayor for each year.

Franklin Township prides itself in being a rural-agricultural community. The larger lot sizes and preservation of farmland and open space create a scenic place to live as well as protects our natural resources.