Franklin Square or Park (the two terms seemed to be used interchangeably over the years) was Bloomington’s first park, beating runner-up Miller Park (established in 1887) by 31 years. Located seven blocks northeast of the old county courthouse (now the McLean County Museum of History) and bordered by what would become McLean, Chestnut, Prairie and Walnut streets, some contemporaries believed the park was inconveniently located too far north of town! Interestingly, the park was named for Bloomington Mayor Franklin Price, though why it wasn’t called Price Park instead is unknown.
Despite the park’s often-ragged condition, some of the city’s leading citizens, including Illinois Gov. Joseph “Private Joe” Fifer and U.S. Vice President Adlai E. Stevenson I, built or moved into stately residences lining the “square.” And members of the Funk family had four homes constructed on its south side. Many of the houses date to the Victorian Era and represent a wide variety of styles, including Italianate, Queen Anne and Georgian Revival. Furthermore, Franklin Park quickly became an invaluable public space for recreational, social and political activities, ranging from church picnics to electioneering torchlight parades.
In 1976 the park and the nearby residences were listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and three years later the neighborhood was designated a local historic district. In the spring of 1989 the Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission and the State of Illinois erected a marker to Franklin Square on the park’s north side.