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History · Francisco

Francisco dates to 1851, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1910.

1851founded
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Francisco’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Francisco began

When was Francisco founded?

1851

Francisco dates its founding to 1851 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 407 in 19102020 census: 545175 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓

What stands out about Francisco’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 728 in 1930; 545 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Francisco’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Francisco’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewFrancisco Indiana Town Hall: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Francisco, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 728

Peaked at 728 in 1930; 545 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Francisco came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Francisco.

Read it all →

The town was platted and laid out on the east side of the Wabash and Erie Canal by John Perkins in 1851. Francisco was incorporated in 1907 and the Francisco State Bank chartered a year later. Its heyday was in the mid-1850s during use of the ill-fated canal to ship goods and produce south to Evansville. Mills, grain warehouses and packing establishments thrived during the decade. Remnants of the old canal are still visible just south of Highway 64 and west of town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Francisco, 1851 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851
    FoundingFrancisco is established
  3. 1854Post officeThe Francisco post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1907Born hereJim Loveless is born here
  7. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 728
By decade

Francisco, decade by decade

Date unknown4 to date
Francisco Indiana Town HallDate?Francisco Indiana Town HallFrancisco Indiana schoolDate?Francisco Indiana schoolFrancisco main stDate?Francisco main stFranciscoLionsClubDate?FranciscoLionsClub
Today8 recent
Francisco, Indiana2016Francisco, IndianaWs mcconnell2011Ws mcconnellFireh20112011Fireh2011BlacksmithShop2011BlacksmithShopUptownfrancisco2010UptownfranciscoFranciscoIndianaCanal2010FranciscoIndianaCanalFrancisco State Bank Building2010Francisco State Bank BuildingFrancisco IOOF2010Francisco IOOF
On the map

Francisco on the map, 1903 to 1961

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

Francisco on the 1903 USGS mapFrancisco on the 1961 USGS map1903Petersburg 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 Francisco.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Francisco Indiana Town Hall
Retake this viewFrancisco Indiana Town Hall

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Francisco’s page.

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Francisco’s history

What year was Francisco founded?

In 1851, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Francisco’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1910 counted 407 people here.

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 (12), 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.