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–Not graded
History · Frankfort

Frankfort’s post office opened in 1857, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1941 on.

1857first post office
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Frankfort began

When was Frankfort founded?

1857

The Frankfort post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Ella (1869) and Porcupine (1877), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 325169 years
Founding year: the first Frankfort post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Frankfort’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 Frankfort are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Frankfort, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Frankfort’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Frankfort’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Frankfort had its own post office from 1857 to 1876. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Frankfort
1857–1876
Ella
1869–1904
Porcupine
1877–1907
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Devils CornerEllaPorcupine
Gone or out of use
Little Plum SchoolschoolOak Center SchoolschoolSunnybrook SchoolschoolWest Frankfort Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Frankfort
Little PlumPorcupine

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

The story so far

Frankfort, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Frankfort yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Frankfort ( FRANK-fərt) is a town in Pepin County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 325 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Ella, and Porcupine are located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 343 to 325 (-5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Frankfort, 1857 to 1941

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Frankfort post office opens
  3. 1869Post officeThe Ella post office opens
  4. 1876Post officeThe Frankfort post office closes
  5. 1877Post officeThe Porcupine post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904Post officeThe Ella post office closes
  8. 1907Post officeThe Porcupine post office closes
  9. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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 album
On the map

Frankfort on the map, 1941 to 1972

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

Frankfort on the 1941 USGS mapFrankfort on the 1972 USGS map1941Arkansaw 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 Frankfort.

Famous people

Famous people close to Frankfort

Nobody well known was born in Frankfort itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Mary Pat GleasonAmerican actress · b. 1950
Helen ParkhurstAmerican educator, author, and lecturer · b. 1887
R
Randy BreuerAmerican basketball player · b. 1960
L
Larry BrandenburgAmerican actor · b. 1948
Taylor HeiseAmerican ice hockey player · b. 2000
Frank Hinman WaskeyAmerican politician · b. 1875
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

MaxvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWatervilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPepinIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMaiden RockIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Frankfort’s history

What year was Frankfort founded?

The Frankfort post office opened in 1857, 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 →
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.