John Bickham, founder of Franklinton, offered in 1819 to donate thirty acres of land to serve as the parish seat of justice and to provide land for public schools in what is today the town of Franklinton, and Washington Parish officially accepted his donation by special election on July 4, 1826. Born to James and Mary Henry Bickham in 1777, he settled near here in 1799 and lived in Washington Parish until his death in 1821. He served in the Louisiana Militia and was a veteran of the West Florida Rebellion and the War of 1812. The Washington Parish Courthouse, the center of Franklinton, and public school buildings remain on the land he donated.