The town marshal of Franklin, George Basore, was shot and killed in 1906 while attempting to arrest an African-American man, George White. When White was arrested, a crowd of 300 gathered outside the Franklin jail intent on lynching him. The sheriff and two deputies were able to remove White and take him to nearby Lebanon for his safety. The "New York Times" reported: "The whole town of Franklin is wrought up over the affair. Colored people were chased out without being given time to explain". White died the following year in the electric chair.