Information

FRANKLIN COUNTY. Franklin County is located in northeast Texas, one county removed from Oklahoma and three counties removed from Arkansas. Mount Vernon, the county seat, is on Interstate Highway 30 seventy-two miles southwest of Texarkana and ninety-six miles northeast of Dallas. With a 2000 population of 2,286, Mount Vernon is the largest town situated entirely within the boundaries of the county, but Winnsboro, located in southwestern Franklin and northwestern Wood counties, had a 2000 population of 3,589. The county's center lies at 3309' north latitude and 9514' west longitude. The county comprises 294 square miles of the post oak belt and is heavily wooded; post oak, blackjack oak, and pine trees predominate. The terrain varies from nearly level to rolling, and the soils are predominantly loam with clay subsoils. The county is drained by the Sulphur River, which forms its northern boundary, and Big Cypress Creek, which runs through the southern portion. Mineral resources include oil, gas, limestone, and lignite coal. Wildlife native to the area once included buffalo, bear, deer, beaver, and turkey. Temperatures range from an average high of 94 F in July to an average low of 35 in January. Rainfall averages almost forty-five inches a year, and the growing season averages 234 days annually.