Hometown History #69: Franklinopoly Entertained, Raised Money for Old July 4 Committee

A little more than 20 years ago, Franlinites had a new rainy-day activity: playing Franklinopoly. It is loosely based on a game, with roots in fandom for the unorthodox economic theories of Henry George, that was transmuted into a celebration of capitalism by Parker Brothers in the 1930s. The Franklin version said goodbye to the investable areas on the original gameboard such as “Boardwalk” and “Marvin Gardens,” substituting local sites and businesses, who presumably paid a sponsorship fee to be thus memorialized.

According to one source, sales of game sets was intended to raise money for the July 4 celebrations at that time.   A custom board game from Pride Distributors, Inc. – Fund Raising Div. Farmington Hills, MI, the cover art was provided by Angelina Wood of the Woodshed.  Games in pristine condition are lurking in Franklin attics and occasionally appear on eBay

The original Monopoly game is licensed in 103 countries and printed in 37 languages. It is estimated that more than 250 million Monopoly games have been sold and that the game has been played by billions people. Some of the knockoffs were also licenses. Whether the Franklin version was actually licensed is not clear.