Physical Characteristics. Franklin County is in northwest Florida and is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico and by Liberty, Wakulla, and Gulf counties. The county has 544.84 square miles of land and 28.80 square miles of water for a total of 573.64 square miles. The average January temperature is 53.7 degrees Fahrenheit, and the average August temperature is 81.7 degrees Fahrenheit. The average annual rainfall is 58.36 inches.
History. Franklin County was established from a portion of Escambia County in 1832 and named for Benjamin Franklin. Spanish explorer Panfilo de Narvaez visited the area near present-day Apalachicola in 1527. In 1845 Dr. John Gorrie of Apalachicola built the first ice-making machine.
