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St-Francisville-Main-Street-ilPhoto: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
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History · St. Francisville

St. Francisville’s post office opened in 1838, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Bridge at Thirteenth Street. Below: maps from 1915 on and the census since 1860.

1838first post office
1on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How St. Francisville began, and where its name came from

When was St. Francisville founded?

1838

The St. Francisville post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 106 in 18602020 census: 568188 years

How did St. Francisville get its name?

St. Francisville was named for St. Francis Xavier, reflecting the growing influence of Jesuit missionaries in the area.

Founding year: the first St. Francisville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about St. Francisville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of St. Francisville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,391 in 1910; 568 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19153 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1964. Watch St. Francisville change.Deep rootsA post office since 1838: 188 years of St. Francisville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. Francisville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. Francisville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

St. Francisville, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400190019502000Peak: 1,391

Peaked at 1,391 in 1910; 568 people lived here in 2020.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on St. Francisville’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

St. Francisville on the map, 1915 to 1964

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of St. Francisville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

St. Francisville on the 1915 USGS mapSt. Francisville on the 1944 USGS mapSt. Francisville on the 1964 USGS map1915Vincennes sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of St. Francisville.

The story

How St. Francisville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of St. Francisville.

Read it all →

St. Francisville is rooted in a stockade built by Joseph Tougas in the early 1810s. The city was platted by Tougas's widow in the mid-1830s. It was named for St. Francis Xavier, reflecting the growing influence of Jesuit missionaries in the area. The city incorporated in 1873.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

St. Francisville, 1838 to 1915

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1838Post officeThe Saint Francisville post office opens
  3. 1881Born hereJulian Morgenstern is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909BuiltBridge at Thirteenth Street is built
  6. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 1,391
  7. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

St. Francisville, decade by decade

Today3 recent
St-Francisville-post-office-il2020St-Francisville-post-office-ilSt-Francisville-Main-Street-il2020St-Francisville-Main-Street-ilSt-Francisville-First-National-Bank-il2020St-Francisville-First-National-Bank-il
On the National Register

1 historic place in St. Francisville

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2016
Bridge at Thirteenth Street
Bridge at Thirteenth Street, built 1909
Structures
Bridge at Thirteenth StreetBuilt 1909

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Francisville

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Denison Township1 historic placeA

Questions about St. Francisville’s history

What year was St. Francisville founded?

The St. Francisville post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in St. Francisville?

One place: the Bridge at Thirteenth Street (listed 2016).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.