The story
Read it all →How Frankton came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Frankton.
Frankton was laid out in 1853. It was incorporated as a town in 1871.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C+History
History · Frankton
Frankton dates to 1853, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 39% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1870.
1853founded
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
How Frankton began
When was Frankton founded?
1853
Frankton dates its founding to 1853 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1870.
First census: 270 in 18702020 census: 1,775173 years
How historic is Frankton?
C+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Frankton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Frankton is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Frankton’s overall grade.
Founding era1853, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194019.7% of homes (±3.8) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%B+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IN town 7.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 39%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Frankton’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Indiana 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 range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points). Two sources give 1853.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Frankton’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 Frankton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1900 and 1920, then more than doubled.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1909, drew every building in Frankton.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Frankton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Frankton’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Frankton, census by census
Lost half of its people between 1900 and 1920, then more than doubled.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Frankton’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Frankton, building by building, 1895–1909
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1895Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Frankton in 1914
Passages that mention Frankton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Madison County, Indiana1914Read the page →
Read the text
His record in helping to preserve the Union was one of which his descendants may properhbe proud. When he reiurned to the pursuits of peace he settled on a farm near Frankton in Madison county, and began a career of general farming and dealing in live stock, principally cattle and hogs, shipping from Frankton. He also became interested in general merchandising and tlie grain trade with his brother, under the firm name of Quick Bros., a partnership which contiuaea until 1887. Mr. Quick continued in the grain trade until 18p5. He
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Madison County, Indiana1914Read the page →
Read the text
tendent, the duties of which position he discharged with eminent satisfaction to the school board and the patrons of the schools. His services as an edueator were sought in other cities and in 1884 he accepted a proposition from the school board of Frankton in Madison county to' superintend the schools. For seven years he ably and faithfully looked after the educational interests of Frankton, and it can be truthfully said that no superintendent before or since came more nearly to satisfying _ the public expectations. His methods were approved, and his
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Frankton, 1853 to 1980
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1853FoundingFrankton is established
- 1854Post officeThe Frankton post office opens
- 1896
Born hereIsabel Withers is born here - 20th century
- 1962
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 2,080
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the map
Frankton on the map, 1962 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Frankton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1962Frankton sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Frankton.
Questions about Frankton’s history
What year was Frankton founded?
In 1853, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Frankton’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1870 counted 270 people here.
How does Frankton rank for history?
Frankton is more historic than 39% 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 Frankton?
20% of Frankton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1967.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.