 Franklin Township was surveyed in 1803 and settled in November 1805 when John Haymaker and his family moved west from Warren to the banks of the Cuyahoga River . They were joined by John 's brother George and their father Jacob Haymaker and their families early the next year , and built a gristmill in 1807 . Initial growth in the area was slow , but eventually two small villages would develop due to the potential for power generated by the Cuyahoga River that could be used in gristmills and manufacturing . The first village , known as Franklin Mills , or locally as the " Lower Village " , developed mostly around the original Haymaker property . In 1818 , Joshua Woodard arrived in the area and began constructing buildings just north of the village forming the " Upper Village " that would come to be known briefly as Carthage . 
