The Johnson County Museum is housed in the Franklin Masonic Temple building, that opened in 1924.  

Groundbreaking for the Masonic Temple building took place on March 24, 1922. The building was dedicated on April 14, 1924.  The Neo-Classical building with Ionic columns was designed by Clifford Shopbell of the Evansville firm of Shopbell, Fowler, and Thole, at a cost of $104,000. 

In 1988, the museum moved into the Masonic Temple building.

 In 1991, this building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. 

Johnson County Historical Society Timeline

1923: Johnson County’s Centennial Celebration stimulated an interest in the history of the area. So many local businesses began decorating their shop windows with antiques and relics of the area’s history that the centennial committee asked for space for some of the items at the nearly complete Masonic Temple.

1932: The D. A. R. begins a county museum in the southwest corner of the basement of the Court House. During World War II the room was needed for official business, so the items were packed up and stored elsewhere in the Court House.

1963 The museum opens at 150 W. Madison Street in Franklin, in the first floor of a home donated by Clara Suckow. In 1964, the museum expanded to include space in the second floor of the home.

1980 The Johnson County Historical Society takes over leadership of the museum, adding an addition to the back of the house.

1984: The Sloan property next to the museum was purchased for yet another expansion. Public records from the Court House were added to the collection.

1988: The museum purchases the former Masonic Temple at 135 N. Main Street for $120,000. An additional $600,000 was raised for renovation of the space.

1991: The Masonic Lodge is placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

1992: The museum and genealogy library open in the new location.

1993: The Hendricks Log Cabin was moved to the grounds of the Johnson County Museum. The cabin was built in 1835 in the Needham area, 3 miles east of Franklin on state Road 44, by Sally and Lewis Lemasters Hendricks.

1996: Historical Society entered in an agreement with the Board of Commissioners of Johnson County for the operation and programming of museum facilities.

 The Hendricks Log Cabin, located next to the Johnson County Museum.