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History · Frankford

Frankford’s post office opened in 1830, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 1880.

1830first post office
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Tedder · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Frankford began

When was Frankford founded?

1830

The Frankford post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 462 in 18802020 census: 343196 years
Founding year: the first Frankford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Frankford’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 Frankford are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 793 in 1910; 343 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1896 to 1917, drew every building in Frankford.Old housesHalf of Frankford’s homes were built before 1945.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Frankford’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Frankford’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

Frankford, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 793

Peaked at 793 in 1910; 343 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Every building

Frankford, building by building, 1896–1917

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.

Frankford fire insurance map, 1896, sheet 11896Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Frankford came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Frankford.

Read it all →

A post office called Frankford has been in operation since 1830. The community's name probably is a transfer from Frankfort, Kentucky, the former home of a first settler.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Frankford, 1830 to 1943

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1830Post officeThe Frankford post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 793
  5. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Frankford, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Frankford Missouri aerial2025Frankford Missouri aerialMOMap-doton-Frankford2004MOMap-doton-Frankford
On the map

Frankford on the map, 1943 to 1973

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

Frankford on the 1943 USGS mapFrankford on the 1973 USGS map1943Vandalia 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 Frankford.

Questions about Frankford’s history

What year was Frankford founded?

The Frankford post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 (2), Wikipedia, 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.