Franklin County, named for Benjamin Franklin, was created in 1784 from part of Cumberland County. Chambersburg, the county seat, was aptly named for Benjamin Chambers, whose 1730 settlement was the future county’s first permanent settlement. In 1797, the historic town of Waynesboro was settled and laid out by Scottish-Irish settler John Wallace and named for his Revolutionary War commander, General Anthony Wayne. Franklin County is home to the lower Cumberland Valley, a lush portion of the Great Appalachian Valley that runs from Canada to Alabama. The land was purchased from the Indians in 1736, and is still its agricultural and economic center.

The region prospered with the production of massive amounts of paper, crushed stone and lumber, which were transported on the Cumberland Valley Railroad. The railroad, built in the early 1830’s, functioned through the 1960’s, and during the Civil War was a vital supplier of Union troops to Franklin County. Because of its strategic Cumberland Valley location, the county sustained three major Confederate raids. Chambersburg remains the only Northern town burned to the ground by Confederate troops. The county is also home to the state’s oldest state park, Mont Alto, the site of the former Mont Alto Blast Furnace. It is now a serene state park full of hiking trails and a picnic pavilion, which at the turn of the last century housed a spectacular carousel.