Yes, unofficially, there once was a state named Franklin in the U.S.
For a short time, a part of what is now eastern Tennessee was known as Franklin, but it never officially became a U.S. state.
Its founders, who were in such a remote region that they felt the need to band together to protect themselves, named their “state” for Benjamin Franklin.
It existed between 1784 and 1790, when the federal government brought it into the newly formed Southwest Territory.
Tennessee, including the area of Franklin, became an official U.S. state six years later.
