Franklin County, Missouri

Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,492. Its county seat is Union. The county was organized in 1818 and is named after Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.Franklin County is part of the St. Louis, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area and contains many of the city's exurbs. It is located along the south side of the Missouri River.The county has wineries that are included in the Hermann AVA (American Viticultural Area) and is part of the region known as the Missouri Rhineland, which extends on both sides of the Missouri River.HistoryOccupied by succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples, this area was populated by the historic Osage tribe at the time of European encounter. The region was first settled by Europeans during the rule of the Spanish Empire. The Spanish log fort San Juan del Misuri (1796–1803) was built in present-day Washington. After the American Revolutionary War, migrants from the new United States started moving West. Among them were the family and followers of Daniel Boone, an explorer from Kentucky who settled the area starting in 1799. For the next two decades, most settlers came from the Upper South, especially Kentucky and Virginia, bringing their slaves with them to work the land.