Hanson Memorial High School began opening its doors to the youth of Franklin since 1925. Mrs. Minnie Hanson Conolly presented the main school as well as the acreage in memory of her father, Albert Hanson, and her brother, Eddie Hanson. In 1931, Mrs. Conolly established an endowment fund dedicated to facility upkeep. The addition of a library and cafeteria building in the early fifties and the construction of a gym/science structure in 1962 completed the needed facilities for the school. The late Mrs. J. C. Blevins continued the work begun by her generous aunt, and today her Blevins-Kemper descendants carry on the family's dedication to Catholic education and Hanson Memorial High School. In the spring of 1967, the Christian Brothers, after forty years of dedicated work in the education of boys in Franklin, withdrew from the faculty at Hanson because of a greater need in other areas of the Province. In August 1967, St. John Academy and Hanson Memorial High School were consolidated and Hanson opened as a junior and senior coeducational high school. The Marianites of Holy Cross, who had been at St. John since 1871, agreed to become a part of Hanson's staff. With this restructuring, a new era in Catholic education in Franklin was begun and has proved to be an important and valuable part of the community. Dedicated laymen and women presently staff the school. Currently, Hanson Memorial High School educates students in grades six through twelve. In 1999 a successful Capital Campaign raised nearly one million dollars. That money was used to build a modern eight room "junior high wing" to the school. In the fall of 2011 a new state of the art library was completed. Dedicated to Fr. Oniell Landry, the library shows the continued support for Catholic education in Franklin. Today, Hanson Memorial is run by dedicated laymen and women of Franklin and surrounding areas.
Athletic
Hanson Memorial Athletics has a long-standing tradition of excellence since the school opened its doors in 1925. The sport of football thrived during the Richard McCloskey era, which spanned 40+ years, and is highlighted with the 1976 CLASS 1A State Championship. Girls Basketball has enjoyed long time success, especially under the direction of alumnus, Billie Jean Talbot.A girls CLASS 1A State Championship was won in 1978. HMS Athletics has tallied a total 12 team state championships in the sports of Football, Softball, Girls Basketball and Golf. Numerous runner-up trophies have been obtained by our teams as well. Several HMS athletes have been crowned individual state champions in the sports of Golf, Track and Field, and Power-lifting. Currently, HMS offers 9 sports for our student-athletes to participate in.
Notable alumni
Paul Fleming, American restaurateur most notably P.F.Changs China Bistro, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse,Paul Martin's American Grill, Ruth Chris' Steakhouse Vincent Borne, Currently 16th Judicial District Court Judge Charles Hanagriff, LSU sportscaster
