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This county is bounded on the north by
Windham County, Vermont, and a part of
Cheshire County, New Hampshire; east by
Worcester County, south by
Hampshire County, and west by the county of
Berkshire.
The surface of the county is elevated: the
Green-Mountain range extends from north to south, presenting some of the wildest and most picturesque scenery in the
State.
The soil, however, broken by hills of no common height, is exceedingly fertile; its numerous valleys produce fine crops of grain and grasses; its mountain sides afford rich pasturage for cattle and sheep.
The
Connecticut River flows through its centre from north to south, and the
Deerfield and
Miller's Rivers pass through rich and beautiful valleys.
It is a quiet, pastoral region, with here and there busy manufacturing towns.
Greenfield is the shire town, and is widely known as one of the most beautiful of our
New-England villages.
The population of
Franklin County in 1860 was 31,434, in 1865 it was 31,342, showing a decrease of 92 in the five years of the war. The population in 1870 was 32,635, which is an increase since 1865 of 1,292.
The valuation of the county in 1860 was $12,448,961, in 1865 it was $13,048,120, which is an increase in five years of $599,259.
The number of men which
Franklin County furnished for the war, according to the returns made by the selectmen in 1866, was 3,159, which is about two hundred less than the actual number.
Every town in the county furnished its full quota upon every call made by the
President for men, and each had a surplus over and above all demands, which in the aggregate amounted to two hundred and seventy-nine men.
