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History · Frannie

Frannie’s post office opened in 1894, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1966 on and the census since 1960.

1894first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Frannie began

When was Frannie founded?

1894

The Frannie post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 171 in 19602020 census: 145132 years
Founding year: the first Frannie post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Frannie’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 Frannie are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 209 in 2000; 145 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Frannie’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Frannie’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

Frannie, census by census

01002001960198020002020Peak: 209

Peaked at 209 in 2000; 145 people lived here in 2020.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

The story

How Frannie came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Frannie.

Read it all →

William A. "Jack" Morris arrived in 1886 and established the Morris Ranch. It was along the wagon route between Billings, Montana and Lander, Wyoming. The ranch became a wayside lodge for cattlemen and cowboys. In 1888 Morris had a daughter, Frannie.

In 1894, Morris established a post office at his ranch and named it for his daughter. The settlement had around 25 residents at the time. In 1900 the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad reached Frannie.

Until 1954, the legal status of Frannie was that of an unincorporated area taking in parts of Big Horn and Park Counties. In 1954, the town was incorporated. Under Wyoming law (WS 15-3-101), Frannie now has the status of an incorporated town having less than 4,000 people.

ChaptersFrannie Morris

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Frannie, 1894 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1894Post officeThe Frannie post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 21st century
  6. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 209
By decade

Frannie, decade by decade

Today2 recent
A pumpjack oil drill outside the little town of Frannie, which straddles the line between Park and Big Horn counties in…2015A pumpjack oil drill outside the little town of Frann…WYMap-doton-Frannie2004WYMap-doton-Frannie
On the map

Frannie on the map, 1966 to 1980

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

Frannie on the 1966 USGS mapFrannie on the 1980 USGS map1966Frannie sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Frannie.

Famous people

Famous people close to Frannie

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

See all →
D
Darren DaltonAmerican actor, screenwriter and film producer · b. 1965
Chris CooleyPlayer of American football · b. 1982
H
Harry Franklin VickersAmerican inventor and Industrialist · b. 1898
Don G. DespainAmerican botanist · b. 1940
Laurie NiemiAmerican football player · b. 1925
R
Ralph WattsAmerican politician · b. 1944

Questions about Frannie’s history

What year was Frannie founded?

The Frannie post office opened in 1894, 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 Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, 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.