The Person:
From Wikipedia entry on Benjamin Franklin:
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"Benjamin Franklin FRS FRSE (January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705] – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among other inventions.[2] He founded many civic organizations, including Philadelphia's fire department and the University of Pennsylvania.
Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity, initially as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies. As the first United States Ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation. Franklin was foundational in defining the American ethos as a marriage of the practical values of thrift, hard work, education, community spirit, self-governing institutions, and opposition to authoritarianism both political and religious, with the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment. In the words of historian Henry Steele Commager, "In a Franklin could be merged the virtues of Puritanism without its defects, the illumination of the Enlightenment without its heat." To Walter Isaacson, this makes Franklin "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become."
Franklin became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies, publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette at the age of 23. He became wealthy publishing this and Poor Richard's Almanack, which he authored under the pseudonym "Richard Saunders". After 1767, he was associated with the Pennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper that was known for its revolutionary sentiments and criticisms of British policies.
He pioneered and was first president of Academy and College of Philadelphia which opened in 1751 and later became the University of Pennsylvania. He organized and was the first secretary of the American Philosophical Society and was elected president in 1769. Franklin became a national hero in America as an agent for several colonies when he spearheaded an effort in London to have the Parliament of Great Britain repeal the unpopular Stamp Act. An accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired among the French as American minister to Paris and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco-American relations. His efforts proved vital for the American Revolution in securing shipments of crucial munitions from France.
He was promoted to deputy postmaster-general for the British colonies in 1753, having been Philadelphia postmaster for many years, and this enabled him to set up the first national communications network. During the Revolution, he became the first United States Postmaster General. He was active in community affairs and colonial and state politics, as well as national and international affairs. From 1785 to 1788, he served as governor of Pennsylvania. He initially owned and dealt in slaves but, by the 1750s, he argued against slavery from an economic perspective and became one of the most prominent abolitionists.
His colorful life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, and his status as one of America's most influential Founding Fathers, have seen Franklin honored more than two centuries after his death on coinage and the $100 bill, warships, and the names of many towns, counties, educational institutions, and corporations, as well as countless cultural references."
The Place:
From the Wikipedia page for Franklin County, Kansas:
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"Franklin County (county code FR) is a county located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 25,992. Its county seat and most populous city is Ottawa.
The area was included in a treaty ceding land to the Osage Nation in 1808, and ceded back to the federal government in 1825. After 1825 and prior to 1867, treaties with various Indian nations set off parts of what was later to become Franklin County for their use.
In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1855, Franklin County was established. Franklin County was one of the 33 original Kansas Territory counties created by the first Territorial Legislature of 1855. The county was named after Benjamin Franklin.
The Courthouse:
From the National Register Application:
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"The Franklin County Courthouse, located at Ottawa, is a rectangular Romanesque-influenced structure with entrances on the east and west sides. The building is three stories in height and has a full basement. The basement foundation walls, which are constructed of rough-hewn limestone blocks laid in regular horizontal courses, terminate at the first floor line in a projecting limestone belt course. Red face brick is the principal building material used for wall construction on the three stories above the stone belt line. The roof form is very complex but is basically a steep pitched hip roof with intersecting gables at the center of each of the four sides. A steeply pitched hip roof is used over each of the four corner towers. Two cupolas are located at the ends of the main hip roof. The west cupola contains a four-sided clock while the east cupola is an open four-sided bell tower. A decorative metal spine is used on all roof ridges."