Franklin County: School classifications, township roads and city assessments
Use Franklin school classification reports, Frankfort Township road decisions and West Frankfort city-court assessments as focused local research routes.
Sources checked October 29, 2026. Holdings checked against official catalogs and repository descriptions. Staff-confirmed details are identified below; other holdings are based on published sources. No name-level search; dates do not guarantee complete coverage or online images.
STOP 01 / SIU IRAD
Schools: classification reports and district organization
Preliminary classification reports provide a different route from a pupil register. The non-high-school district record can help frame an administrative question.
School Classification Reports, Preliminary 1928–1956 · Accession 6/0327/01
School District Record, Non-High School 1917–1928 · Accession 6/0432/03
A focused question to ask
Which schools and districts appear, what did these reports classify, and are the records arranged by school or year?
Evidence limit: The title does not establish named pupils or a particular classification scheme. Preliminary reports should not be treated as final decisions.
STOP 02 / SIU IRAD
Frankfort Township: trace road decisions in context
The highway commissioners’ record and township record offer separate views of local government action. Start with the road, place and year.
Frankfort Twp: Highway Commissioners' Record 1890–1914 · Accession 6/0406/01
Frankfort Twp: Township Record 1885–1983 · Accession 6/0406/02
A focused question to ask
Can staff identify the relevant volume and any index for my road or locality, and explain whether related decisions appear in both series?
Evidence limit: Frankfort Township is not interchangeable with the city of West Frankfort. A proposed road or expenditure does not establish completed construction.
STOP 03 / SIU IRAD
West Frankfort: an improvement assessment reaches the city court
The special-assessment record is a narrow municipal-court lead. Judgment dockets may offer a separate way to investigate the final action in a case.
West Frankfort: City Court Special Assessment Record 1926–1930 · Accession 6/0421/23
West Frankfort: City Court Judgment Dockets 1915–1963 · Accession 6/0421/21
A focused question to ask
What projects and indexes are represented in the assessment record, and can a case reference be followed into the judgment docket?
Evidence limit: These are court records, not city-council minutes. An assessment or judgment does not by itself establish residence, payment or a completed improvement.
IRAD is an Illinois Secretary of State program administered by the Illinois State Archives. Depository location: Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Direct IRAD research requests to the regional depository, not the university’s separate archives or special collections.
Call before visiting the IRAD facility in the Library Storage Building, 1835 University Press Drive, Carbondale. It is separate from the main library. Follow the statewide telephone/mail request policy; reduced summer hours and university closures can affect access.
Start with no more than two names, approximate dates, the county and the record type. Include the township or school where known and the accession number above. Ask whether an index exists, which volumes survive and what copying will cost. For an unindexed series, agree on a manageable search before requesting a long period. The statewide policy directs research requests to telephone or mail rather than email; wait for a response before sending another request. See the statewide research policy ↗.
Request template: I am researching [person or place] in [locality] around [years]. Your catalog lists [title], accession [number]. Which volume covers that period, is it indexed, and how can I consult or obtain the relevant pages? Please let me know any gaps, restrictions and copying charges.
Collection dates at a glance
The table lists IRAD series with verified date spans. Community collections above may have different or unspecified coverage and separate access rules. Catalog spans are starting points, not guarantees of every year, locality or individual. Use the Research Planner to compare your years with these cataloged series.
Selected cataloged series for Franklin County
Record series
Catalog dates
Accession
School Classification Reports, Preliminary
1928–1956
6/0327/01
School District Record, Non-High School
1917–1928
6/0432/03
Frankfort Twp: Highway Commissioners' Record
1890–1914
6/0406/01
Frankfort Twp: Township Record
1885–1983
6/0406/02
West Frankfort: City Court Special Assessment Record
1926–1930
6/0421/23
West Frankfort: City Court Judgment Dockets
1915–1963
6/0421/21
Keep the record and your interpretation separate.
Save the depository, collection, accession number, volume, page, dates and any copy correspondence. Record uncertain names as uncertain. A shared road, school or signature can suggest an association; it does not establish a family relationship.
Suggest a correction, an overlooked collection or an updated access detail. An official link or source helps us check it before making a change. Please leave out private family documents and sensitive personal information.