Most of Frisco City was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1972 on and the census since 1910.
How Frisco City began, and where its name came from
When was Frisco City founded?
1910
Frisco City first appears in the census in 1910. Two smaller post offices, Jones Mills (1890) and Roy (1913), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 442 in 19102020 census: 1,170116 years
How did Frisco City get its name?
Frisco City was named for the owner of the local grist mill.
How historic is Frisco City?
D
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Frisco City is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Frisco City’s overall grade.
Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Frisco City’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (26% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Frisco City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
What would become Frisco City started out as two mid-19th century communities named Lufkin and Snider. It initially incorporated as the town of Jones Mill in 1909. It was named for the owner of the local grist mill. Four years later on November 4, 1913, the town was renamed as Roy for Roy Megargel, owner of the Gulf, Florida, and Alabama Railroad (GFA). The renaming was done on the condition that Megargel would build a rail line to the town.
When Megargel failed to deliver on his promise, the town reverted to its name of Jones Mill in 1919 (also referred to as Jones Mills plural). Megargel failed to keep his name on Jones Mill, but later received another community named for him, that of nearby Megargel, a census-designated place as of 2010.
The Frisco City post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Frisco City rank for history?
Frisco City is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Frisco City?
2% of Frisco City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1974.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
