June 5, 2019 – Sulphur Springs City Council Monday night approved a request to rename a section of Jackson Street after a community leader.
J.D. Franklin Drive will stretch from Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to College Street.
This section of Jackson Street, from Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to College Street will be renamed J.D. Franklin Drive.
The designation is the vision of the Rev. Jason Lindley, to honor Franklin while he’s still living, according to Councilman Freddie Taylor. A petition was presented to residents, businesses and churches in the area, asking for their support for the renaming of Jackson Street in honor of J.D. Franklin. That was presented to city officials.
It honors 82-year-old resident J.D. Franklin, who served as the first African American City Commissioner of Sulphur Springs in 1975, and served on the city council until 1979. In 1978, elected as the first African American mayor of Sulphur Springs, notes Taylor
Franklin was a businessman, having his own lawn care service. He more recently came out of retirement and is employed with the Sulphur Springs Independent School District Maintenance Department.
Franklin is a 1956 graduate of Douglass High School. He married Gloria Nash in 1959. They have been married for 60 years and raised five children, who all attended college and received a bachelor’s degree and some master’s degrees as well.
He has been an active member of the Masonic Columbia Lodge #81 for more than 60 years. He too has been an active member of Morning Chapel Missionary Baptist Church for more than 55 years, and became a deacon in 1972.
“This man is worth his weight in gold,” said Taylor.
The resolution passed unanimously, to a standing clap of approval from the packed audience in City Hall Tuesday night.
