Franklin

FRANKLIN COUNTY:

  • The Beed's Lake Spillway, northwest of the City of Hampton (pop. 4,237) is claimed to be the most photographed dam in the Midwest.  The spillway is 170 feet-long with horizontal layers of limestone dropping abruptly 40 feet. It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.
  • The Soldiers Memorial Hall in Hampton is a Grand Army of the Republic hall built in 1890 to honor the 44 men (of 169 from Franklin County who enlisted on the Union side) to die in the American Civil War.
  • Sukup Manufacturing Co. in the  City of Sheffield (pop. 1,118) remains the largest family-owned, full-line grain system manufacturer in the world.  Sukup has been engineering solutions to protect and preserve the world’s grain supply since 1963.  Sukup products are sold throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as in over 50 foreign countries. The company employs approximately 600 individuals.
  • Kum & Go, the convenience store chain, was founded in Hampton by William A. Krause and Tony S. Gentle originally as the Hampton Oil Company.  Today, Kum & Go's parent company, the Krause Group, runs a diverse set of businesses that includes convenience retail, logistics, Italian wineries and hospitality, real estate, agriculture, and soccer clubs.

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