[26] Traditionally a farming community, it has become a fast-growing suburb with massive development in the later 20th and 21st centuries as a diverse blend of races, religions, and cultures.

In 2008, Franklin Township ranked #5 on Money magazine's list of America's Top 100 Best Places to Live.

[31][32] Franklin Township was very much a part of Revolutionary War history and the scene of many raiding parties along Route 27, then known as the King's Highway.

In 1777, near the mill on the Millstone River at Weston, the Continental Army and local militia engaged and successfully drove off a British foraging party of about 600 troops, sent out of New Brunswick by General Cornwallis.

On November 2, 1783, Washington composed his farewell address to the army while staying at Rockingham near Rocky Hill.

[33] The construction of the Delaware and Raritan Canal in the 1830s, stretching 22 miles (35 km) to connect New York City and Philadelphia, led to significant growth in the township, with as much as 200,000 tons of goods shipped on barges using the canal by the 1860s.

The rise of shipping commercial goods using railroads led to a substantial decline in canal traffic.

[34] The area has been restored as the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park[35] The Van Wickle House, located next to the Delaware and Raritan Canal in the Somerset section of the township, in between New Brunswick and South Bound Brook, was built in 1722 by Dutch settlers and is now owned by Franklin Township and leased by the Meadows Foundation.

Set back behind Easton Avenue, the home adjoins the Rutgers Preparatory School and a Revolutionary War-era graveyard.

[37] As of 2011, Hermann Warehouse Corp re-located out of the Clyde Road facility and there has not been rail service into that building since then.

In 1922, the infamous Hall-Mills Murder took place in Franklin Township, in the area adjacent to New Brunswick known as Somerset.

[40][41][42] The following are unincorporated communities and census-designated places (CDPs) located within Franklin Township:[43][44][45] Other unincorporated communities, localities, and place names located partially or completely within the township include Hamilton Park and Rockingham.

[81] As of the 2000 United States census[20] there were 50,903 people, 19,355 households, and 12,987 families residing in the township.

[93] As of 2022[update], the Mayor of Franklin Township is Democrat Phillip Kramer, whose term of office ends December 31, 2023.

[citation needed] In January 2016, the Township Council selected Charles Onyejiaka from a list of three candidates nominated by the Democratic municipal committee to fill the Third Ward seat expiring in December 2017 that was vacated by Philip Kramer when he took office as mayor; Onyejiaka will serve on an interim basis until the November 2016 general election, when voters will select a candidate to fill the one-year balance of the term of office.

[100] In January 2015, the Township Council chose Chris Kelly from among three candidates offered by the Republican municipal committee to fill the vacant seat of Brian D. Levine, who had resigned from his council seat to take office on the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

[101] In 1998, the township approved a referendum by a better than 2–1 margin to raise property taxes by 3 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, with the money to be used to preserve open space.

[103][104][105] Prior to the 2010 Census, Franklin Township had been split between the 6th Congressional District and the 12th Congressional District, a change made by the New Jersey Redistricting Commission that took effect in January 2013, based on the results of the November 2012 general elections.

[106] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 12th congressional district is represented by Bonnie Watson Coleman (D, Ewing Township).

[109] For the 2024-2025 session, the 17th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Bob Smith (D, Piscataway) and in the General Assembly by Joseph Danielsen (D, Franklin Township) and Kevin Egan (D, New Brunswick).

[127] Among the township's 2010 Census population, 58.2% (vs. 60.4% in Somerset County) were registered to vote, including 74.7% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 80.4% countywide).

[135] The Franklin Township Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.

The state's oldest independent school, RPS moved to Franklin Township in 1957.

In 1755, Jacob Skilman built a gristmill and sawmill here on the Millstone River, located along the historic King's Highway.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 10, 1986 for its significance in engineering, exploration/settlement, industry, and transportation.