Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Francis was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 1910.
The Francis post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Francis’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Francis yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Francis is a town in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, Francis had a population of 244.
Its first post office opened in 1902. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 315 to 244 (-23%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Francis.
1958Francis 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 Francis.
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.
1908Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Between 244 and 931 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Francis’ Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Francis itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Francis post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (1), 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.
2004