Franklin County Commissioners

1883	On November 28^th Franklin County was created by territory legislative action.
1884	In March, a small wood-structure courthouse was built in Ainsworth at a cost of $800, including the land.
1887	On February 7th the courthouse and jail were moved to East Lewis Street in Pasco at a cost of $218. Population Source: Office of Financial Management, Forecasting Division The population in Franklin County was forecast every ten years, starting in 1900. The population was 486 in 1900 and 5153 in 1910.
1912	In January the bid of Misho & Grant of $74,215 was accepted for a new courthouse to be built on North 4th Avenue in Pasco. The architect was C. Lewis Wilson and Co. of Seattle, Washington. In May the bid of C.C. Belknap Glass Co. of $3000 was accepted to furnish and install the art glass dome and two art glass skylights. The population grew to 5877 in 1920, 6137 in 1930, 6307 in 1940, 13,563 in 1950, 23,342 in 1960, and 25,816 in 1970.
1971	In March the bid of $1,165,815 from George A. Grant Construction Company to construct the Public Safety Annex to the Franklin County Courthouse was accepted. The architect was Mark Pence.
1976	In March a $700,000 remodel of the courthouse was started. It included a new stairway between the main floor, the basement and the second floor; the ceilings were lowered in all offices for a new heating, air conditioning and lighting system and the basement was enlarged.
1978	The Franklin County Courthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The population in 1980 was 35,025.
1983	A corrections facility was built to the north of the Public Safety Building to house inmates.
1990	In November lights were installed to illuminate the silver dome of the courthouse at a cost of $20,000, the final project of the 1984 Pasco Centennial Commission. The population grew to 37,473 in 1990 and 49,347 in 2000. The Office of Financial Management recorded the population every year thereafter. In 2001 the population grew to 50,400.
2002	In September voters approved a bond of $10.2 million for restoration of the courthouse. The population in 2002 was 51,300, 53,600 in 2003 and 57,000 in 2004.
2005	In December Franklin County received a grant from the state of Washington for $2.7 million for the historical restoration aspect of the courthouse renovation. The population in 2005 was 60,500. In 2006, the county grew to 64,200 and was considered the fastest growing county in the state.