Francisco is the fifth largest town and seventh largest community in Gibson County,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, United States. A town in Center Township, the population was 469 at the 2010 census and was founded in 1851. Local tradition says the town was named for its first settler, a Spanish laborer working on the Wabash and Erie Canal who built a shack in the area. It is part of the Evansville, Indiana,

Metropolitan Area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

Geography

Francisco is located at (38.333360, -87.447314). According to the 2010 census, Francisco has a total area of , all land. Francisco is located on State Highway 64 between Princeton and Oakland City. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 469 people, 189 households, and 119 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 226 housing units at an average density of . The racial make-up of the town was 97.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.2%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, and 2.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.9% of the population. There were 189 households, of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.0% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.18. The median age in the town was 39.6 years. 25.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.8% were from 25 to 44; 26% were from 45 to 64; and 16.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.8% male and 52.2% female.

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 543 people, 233 households, and 150 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 249 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 99.26%

, 0.55%

and 0.18% Native American.

or Latino of any race were 0.37% of the population. There were 233 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.90. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.3% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $28,750, and the median income for a family was $39,250. Males had a median income of $32,500 versus $18,125 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $15,499. About 10.6% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

History

The town was platted and laid out on the east side of the Wabash and Erie Canal by John Perkins in 1851. Francisco was incorporated in 1907 and the Francisco State Bank chartered a year later. Its heyday was in the mid-1850s during use of the ill-fated canal to ship goods and produce south to Evansville. Mills, grain warehouses and packing establishments thrived during the decade. Remnants of the old canal are still visible just south of Highway 64 and west of town.Tartt's History of Gibson County, p. 207
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Town Hall

Francisco Town Hall is located at 203 West Main St/SR64 with the Fire Department. Meetings are held the second Tuesday of every month. Wastewater meetings begin at 5:30p followed by Water & Town Business.

Highways and rail lines

State Road 64 Interstate 69
(Located 2 miles east of town) Norfolk Southern Railway

Schools

Francisco Elementary School is part of the East Gibson School Corp.. F.E.S. is located on SR 64/Main St. in Francisco Indiana. The home of the Mighty Owls is grades K-6. At least 3 schools have stood on these grounds, with the prior 2 falling to fire. The Last Francisco High School Burnt in the 1970s after being hit by lightning. The Lions Club pictured in the Gallery at the bottom of this page was built to serve as grades 5-8 during construction of a new school. Also used for classroom space was the Methodist, Baptist and Nazarene churches. A small one-room school house once stood near the intersection of Green and School Streets and is why today the current school is not even located on the same side of town as School Street.

Other points of interest

Wabash & Erie Canal Francisco was a town built on the East Banks of the Wabash and Erie Canal. The Manmade Canal ran from Lake Erie in Ohio to the Ohio River at Evansville. Francisco was home to many Rowdy Irishmen who came to help build the canal. The Heyday for the Wabash & Erie Canal was mid-1850s and the canal was closed to traffic around 1870. A large outbreak of cholera broke out among canal workers near Francisco around 1852; as many as 100 workers died and many more fled from the area. Those who stayed and survived were assigned the task of burying the dead. Many were buried along the banks in long trenches, while others were burnt in piles on the floor of small shanties along the canal. Drinking establishments or Doggeries were popular among canal workers and in that day were very prominent around Francisco. Whiskey was supplied by "Jigger Bosses" to workers four times a day and caused many fights among the Irish and Americans. The Irish were generally assigned to digging with shovels, while Americans built culverts and bridges.

Gallery

File:Francisco Indiana school.jpg, Francisco Elem. School 2010 File:FranciscoIndianaCanal.jpg, Wabash Erie Canal near Francisco File:Main st Francisco.jpg, Look up Main St./SR64 File:Francisco State Bank Building.jpg, Old Francisco State Bank File:Francisco IOOF.jpg, IOOF building Main & 4th st. File:FranciscoLionsClub.jpg, Lions Club Building on South 1st Street File:Ws mcconnell.jpg, WS McConnell Building File:BlacksmithShop.jpg, Blacksmith Shop still stands on South 3rd St. File:Francisco Indiana Town Hall.jpg, Fire Department prior to 2011 addition File:wheeling covered bridge.jpg, Covered bridge North of Francisco at Patoka River

References

External links

Town of Francisco, Indiana
{{authority control Towns in Gibson County, Indiana Towns in Indiana Evansville metropolitan area Communities of Southwestern Indiana Populated places established in 1851 1851 establishments in Indiana