Franklin

"Franklin? Well, let me be frank, haha! This town wasn't nothin' in the past, but it's up an' comin', it's on the map an' it'll be a shinnin' star. Great place to raise a family, hasn't got all that old city crap, this is a modern city for the modern family!"

— Pre-war TV and radio ad enticing families to move to the city of Franklin.

Demographics

With a growing population hitting 12,238 at the time of nuclear war, about 70% were White, 25% were African American, and the remainder were Hispanic. 
As this was a city recruiting people to come and raise their children, there were lower numbers for elderly and "older" children (teenagers), and higher than average numbers for "younger" children (elementary or younger) and married looking to start a family or having already started a family (ages 24-35).

Government

Franklin was run by the US government, with all the laws, taxes, and organizations of that country.

Industry & Trade

Many of the people in the city are a part of the workforce, and there is a growing need for people to join the "basic" workforce in terms of baggers, clerks, and sales people. For the moment, many of the jobs that people depend on are ones that bring in money from elsewhere (selling a home, writing ads for radio and TV, etc.). Currently, most of the money comes from tourists during weekends.

Infrastructure

There were two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. Talks were in place to also have a community college in the area, but the city was divided (with the amount of non-college jobs, they wanted to have a workforce willing to enter sales, however, a college would bring more money into the city with games and classes, possibly even enticing more people to live in the area). 
There were also two hospitals, one older one and one for the modern age. Several playgrounds scattered about the city, and (in the beginning) a decent main street. Having the mall open up close by, however, was starting to cause the main street shops to fall.

Districts

While most cities have grown naturally and have "richer/poorer" districts (as well as "wrong side of the track" districts), Franklin being a planned community means that the city starts with districts allowed by the designers. 
Again, as a concentrated effort to have people moving to this city (and inflating the numbers), there are five known districts, each one centered around a "small" park. Heads of households have their own wants and needs as well, which means that they don't really refer to the districts by their park names, but by what's near it (no matter if the item/object is liked or disliked). 

1. Rose Park District (Hospital District)
2. Pine Park District (Elementary school District)
3. Magnolia Park District (Mall-bound District) 
4. Tulip Park District (Book District)
5. Cedar Park District (Police District)

Assets

The city is seen as an asset; there's the modern hospital, the mall nearby, Lake Fish for nature, relaxation, and sport, as well as the new schools, new police station, etc.

Guilds and Factions

Currently, the "factions" at place in Franklin are looking for ways to continue making the town grow. With this aim they tend to agree on a lot of the plans needed to make the town alluring to new couples.

History

The city was a planned one when it was seen how much traffic and money Lake Fish would bring in during the weekends.  There were investors in the town already planning the mall when others were trying to figure out how many people would fit into the available space when they weren't living on top of each other (like in the older cities where the building grew up and babies were placed into baskets that hung over the edge of the place (getting "fresh air"). Here everyone could spread out and grow as they needed to.

Points of interest

Notable points of interest about Franklin: 

• The houses are similar to Levittown models (in that there weren't that many models to choose from), and so there is a bit of a cookie cutter effect, even though it's not as bad as the original town it was modeled after. 
• There are at least five different parks in the city, kept not to "keep beautiful nature," but as selling points to new mothers - "See, no matter where you live, there are parks to take your kids." 
• Main street was full of shops, but with the mall nearby, several of those shops were suffering by the time the nukes hit. 

Tourism

Most people come to Franklin as tourists for one of three reasons. Either they want to spend their time on the beach's shore, sailing, canoeing, swimming, or any number of recreational activities. They visit the mall (and its attractions) for shopping, food, and sales. Or they want to be in the area during hunting season.  
Sometimes it's hard to tell the weekend tourists apart from the people living there who are trying to take a break only for the weekend.

Architecture

Most of the architecture for Franklin is based upon 1940s USA, with the yellows, greens, and soft reds. Houses had dormer windows, with roof lines, and landscaping as well.

Geography

Franklin has access to freshwater (Fish Lake, but for the most part the city was cleared of trees so the features of the landscape seem like gentle rolling hills. No one can see the lake from the city, but everyone knows it's there (from fishing shops and sailing shops in town).

RUINED SETTLEMENT
April 21st 1958

Founding Date

1932

Type

City

Population

12,238

Inhabitant Demonym

Franklinites