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B−History
History · St. Francis

St. Francis’ post office opened in 1882, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #216 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Henni Hall. Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1960.

1882first post office
1on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How St. Francis began

When was St. Francis founded?

1882

The St. Francis post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Saint Francis Station (1867) and Saint Francis (1882), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 10,065 in 19602020 census: 9,161144 years

How historic is St. Francis?

B−

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first St. Francis post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives St. Francis’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Francis is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #216 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Francis’ overall grade.
Founding era1882, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194013.8% of homes (±4.4) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 1.1 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 49%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 40%

Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so St. Francis’ 1.1 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 St. Francis’ 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 St. Francis are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18914 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1971. Watch St. Francis change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s St. Francis, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of St. Francis’ homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. Francis’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. Francis’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
On the map

St. Francis on the map, 1891 to 1971

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

St. Francis on the 1891 USGS mapSt. Francis on the 1901 USGS mapSt. Francis on the 1958 USGS mapSt. Francis on the 1971 USGS map1891Bayview 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 St. Francis.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Saint Francis Station
1867–1882
Saint Francis
1882–1944
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Francis
1cemetery inside St. Francis
Saint Francis Seminary Woods

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

The story

How St. Francis came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of St. Francis.

Read it all →

The area that is now St. Francis was known as "Nojoshing" by local Native Americans at the time that the first white settlers arrived. St. Francis Seminary was established in what is now the city in 1845. The Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi settled there in the mid-19th century.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

St. Francis, 1855 to 1986

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855BuiltHenni Hall is built
  3. 1867Post officeThe Saint Francis Station post office opens
  4. 1882Post officeThe Saint Francis Station post office closes
  5. 1882Post officeThe Saint Francis post office opens
  6. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1916Born hereLeo Joseph Brust is born here
  9. 1944Post officeThe Saint Francis post office closes
  10. 1986Born hereJose Valdez is born here
By decade

St. Francis, decade by decade

Today10 recent
St. Francis July 2025 2 (Nojoshing Trail)2025St. Francis July 2025 2 (Nojoshing Trail)St. Francis July 2025 1 (Nojoshing Trail)2025St. Francis July 2025 1 (Nojoshing Trail)East Layton Avenue, St. Francis (October 2023) 042023East Layton Avenue, St. Francis (October 2023) 04East Layton Avenue, St. Francis (October 2023) 032023East Layton Avenue, St. Francis (October 2023) 03East Layton Avenue, St. Francis (October 2023) 022023East Layton Avenue, St. Francis (October 2023) 02East Layton Avenue, St. Francis (October 2023) 012023East Layton Avenue, St. Francis (October 2023) 01Coryan-st-marie-carls2018Coryan-st-marie-carlsOur Lady of Lourdes grotto in Seminary Woods2017Our Lady of Lourdes grotto in Seminary WoodsOur Lady of Lourdes Grotto, St. Francis, Wisconsin2006Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, St. Francis, WisconsinFrederick Katzer2005Frederick Katzer
On the National Register

1 historic place in St. Francis

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Henni Hall
Henni Hall, built 1855
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Henni HallItalianate · Built 1855

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

St. Francis, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,0001960198020002020Peak: 10,460

Between 8,662 and 10,460 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in St. Francis

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
L
Leo Joseph BrustCatholic bishop · b. 1916
J
Jose ValdezAmerican football player · b. 1986
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Milwaukee212 historic placesA+Cudahy2 historic placesB

Questions about St. Francis’ history

What year was St. Francis founded?

The St. Francis post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does St. Francis rank for history?

St. Francis is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #216 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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.

What is on the National Register in St. Francis?

One place: the Henni Hall (listed 1974).

How old are the homes in St. Francis?

14% of St. Francis’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1962.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.