In 1856, the town of Franklin was founded by an enterprising gentleman named Andrew George, who established the town 14 mi (23 km) south of Sacramento, California on Lower Stockton Road.

Now known as Franklin Boulevard, this had been the main road from Sutter's Fort to the Mexican capital of Monterey.

Franklin High School shares parts of its campus with Toby Johnson Middle School and the Franklin Community Library (Which is run by the Sacramento Public Library (SPL) system.)

In addition to their academic program, Franklin High School offers the STEAM academy, AVID, athletics, and Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA).

The VAPA program provides ceramics, theater acting, photography, animation, graphic design, filmography, art, band, dance, choir, guitar workshop, and piano lab.