Franklin Township, Clare County, Michigan
township in Clare County, Michigan
Franklin Township is a civil township of Clare County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 730 at the 2020 census.
Communities
Meredith is an unincorporated community along the eastern boundary of the township with Sherman Township in Gladwin County at 44°07′50″N 84°36′26″W. During the lumber boom of the late 1800s, the settlement had a population of as many as 1,800 people. A post office operated from January 14, 1884, until October 14, 1895.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 35.47 square miles (91.87 km2), of which 35.33 square miles (91.50 km2) is land and 0.14 square miles (0.36 km2) (0.39%) is water.
Major highways
M-18 (N. Clarwin Road) forms most of the eastern boundary of the township with Gladwin County.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 809 people, 343 households, and 239 families residing in the township. The population density was 22.9 inhabitants per square mile (8.8/km2). There were 915 housing units at an average density of 25.8 per square mile (10.0/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 99.13% White, and 0.87% from two or more races.
“Franklin Township, Clare County, Michigan” enters the record as township in Clare County, Michigan. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Franklin, Township and Clare can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Franklin Township, Clare County, Michigan” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Franklin, Township and Clare provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5491916. Authority coordinates are 44.114, -84.670. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1884, 1895 and 2000.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Franklin Township, Clare County, Michigan”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Franklin Township, Clare County, Michigan primary sources, Franklin Township, Clare County, Michigan archive and Franklin research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Franklin Township, Clare County, Michigan”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Franklin Township, Clare County, Michigan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.