Franklin County, Tennessee

Franklin County is a county in Tennessee, United States, about 65 miles southeast of Nashville
on the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau. It had a population of 42,774 at the 2020 census,
an estimated 45,579 by 2024, and covers 576 square miles (1,490 km2) centred near 35°09′N 86°06′W.

Winchester is the county seat; its postal code is 37398. The county holds 4 cities, 3 towns and
a scatter of smaller unincorporated communities, and it runs on Central Time. Two of its
incorporated places, Tullahoma and Monteagle, share their city and town limits with neighboring
counties.

Towns & Villages in Franklin County

Franklin County has 14 named places on record: 7 incorporated cities and towns, one Census
Designated Place, and 6 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. CDP
stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no
formal boundary.

Two places on this list straddle county lines. Tullahoma’s 20,339 residents are mostly in
Coffee County — the city sits in that county’s southwest corner and only extends south
into a smaller Franklin County share. Monteagle runs the opposite way: its 1,393 residents are
split across Franklin, Marion and Grundy counties, with no single county holding a majority of
the town.

ZIP Codes

• 37398 — Winchester
• 37388 — Tullahoma (also serves 37389, a Tullahoma PO box ZIP; administered mostly from
  Coffee County)
• 37324 — Decherd
• 37318 — Cowan
• 37375 — Sewanee (also serves 37383, a Sewanee PO box ZIP)
• 37330 — Estill Springs
• 37356 — Monteagle
• 37345 — Huntland

Alto, Asia, Beech Hill, Broadview, Midway and Shady Grove have no ZIP code of their own; mail
to these unincorporated communities is delivered under the nearest incorporated town’s
code.

Geography

Franklin County straddles the boundary between the Highland Rim and the Cumberland Plateau.
The eastern third of the county, around Sewanee and Monteagle, climbs onto the plateau itself,
while the western two-thirds sit lower on rolling farmland drained by the Elk River. Of the
county’s 576 square miles, 555 are land and 21 are water, about 3.7 percent. Tims Ford Lake,
a reservoir formed by a dam on the Elk River completed in 1972, is the county’s largest body
of water and its main recreation draw.

Coffee County lies to the north, Grundy County to the northeast, Marion County to the east,
Jackson County, Alabama to the south, Madison County, Alabama to the southwest, Lincoln County to
the west, and Moore County to the northwest. Coffee County, Grundy County, Marion County, Lincoln County and Moore County all border Franklin
directly within Tennessee; Jackson and Madison counties in Alabama form its southern state
line.

Demographics

Franklin County had a population of 42,774 at the 2020 census, and the latest Census Bureau
estimate puts the county near 45,579 residents by 2024. Tullahoma and Winchester are the two
largest communities, together accounting for close to three-quarters of the county’s
population, though most of Tullahoma’s residents live across the line in Coffee County.
Median household income runs about $63,494, below Tennessee’s statewide figure of $67,631
(2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 77 people per square mile of land, well below
the state average, reflecting the county’s large rural and plateau acreage.

Economy & Local Life

Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 4,068 people, followed by health
care and social assistance at 2,294 and retail trade at 2,213. The Nissan Powertrain Assembly
Plant in Decherd, which opened in 1997 and added a second production line in 2014, anchors that
manufacturing base; it now turns out roughly 1.4 million engines a year for Nissan and Infiniti
vehicles and employs more than 1,600 workers. Sewanee’s University of the South is the
county’s largest institutional employer outside manufacturing, drawing staff and faculty
from across the plateau. Cowan’s restored 1904 railroad depot, now a small museum, marks the
town’s 19th-century role as a base for pusher engines that helped freight trains climb the
Cumberland Plateau grade.

History

Tennessee’s legislature organized Franklin County in 1807, naming it for Benjamin
Franklin. Winchester was laid out in 1810 and incorporated as the county seat in 1821, named for
Revolutionary War veteran and War of 1812 general James Winchester.

The Episcopal Church’s ten southern dioceses founded the University of the South at
Sewanee in 1857. Workers laid its six-ton marble cornerstone in October 1860, but Union soldiers
blew it up in 1863 during the Civil War, when the retreating Confederate Army of Tennessee passed
through the county and Union forces took effective control for the war’s remainder.
Construction resumed in 1866 and the university held its first convocation in 1868 with nine
students and four faculty. The school desegregated in 1964. Winchester later produced four
Tennessee governors: Isham G. Harris, Henry Horton, Albert Smith Marks and Peter Turney.

Getting There

Interstate 24 crosses the county’s eastern edge through Monteagle, the main highway link
between Chattanooga and Nashville over the Cumberland Plateau. US Route 41A and US Route 64 run
through the county alongside several state routes.

• Chattanooga — about 45 miles east
• Nashville — about 65 miles northwest
• Tullahoma’s Coffee County side — adjoins Winchester directly to the north
• Huntsville, Alabama — about 55 miles south

Nashville International Airport, roughly 65 miles northwest of Winchester, is the nearest major
commercial airport; Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, about 50 miles east, is a closer regional
alternative. No Amtrak line currently serves Franklin County.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Franklin County located?
It sits in south-central Tennessee on the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau, about 65 miles
southeast of Nashville, bordered by Coffee, Grundy, Marion, Lincoln and Moore counties in
Tennessee and Jackson and Madison counties in Alabama.

What is the population of Franklin County?
42,774 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 45,579.

How big is Franklin County?
576 square miles (1,490 km2), of which 555 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Franklin County?
Winchester, incorporated in 1821, is the county seat.

How many towns and cities are in Franklin County?
Seven incorporated places — Winchester, Tullahoma (partly), Decherd, Cowan, Estill Springs,
Monteagle (partly) and Huntland — plus the Sewanee CDP and six unincorporated communities:
Alto, Asia, Beech Hill, Broadview, Midway and Shady Grove.

What ZIP codes does Franklin County use?
37398 for Winchester, 37388 for Tullahoma, 37324 for Decherd, 37318 for Cowan, 37375 for Sewanee,
37330 for Estill Springs, 37356 for Monteagle and 37345 for Huntland.

What is Franklin County known for?
The University of the South at Sewanee, founded in 1857, and the Nissan Powertrain Assembly Plant
in Decherd, one of the county’s largest employers.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Tennessee.