In May 1891, labor recruiters brought African-Americans to Franklin from Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee with offers of good paying jobs and free transportation.

In early July, a riot broke out resulting in the deaths of two people and the Governor called out the National Guard to restore order.

Ernest Moore later wrote a book about his African-American family's experiences in The Coal Miner Who Came West (1982).

This mining ended in late March 1971 when a coal car bridge across the Green River was blasted in a ceremony attended by many local dignitaries.

In 1984-1985 the Green River Community College archaeology department, led by Gerald Hedlund and Mark Vernon, conducted digs at the abandoned town site.