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Frances, Kentucky

18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1928 and the latest in 1987. It stands in the South Crittenden census division. It lies in ZIP code area 42064. It sits by Whitt Bluff. The Survey maps it on the Dycusburg quadrangle. It stands 548 feet above sea level.

Frances within Crittenden County

On record in Frances

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register within a mile 1 record

The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 18 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

19 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 19 fires within 5 miles of Frances between 1998 and 2017, burning about 125 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined8
Recreation and ceremony5
Equipment and vehicle use2
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Debris and open burning2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
21 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
24 August 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
6 July 2012Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestryBROWNS MI
25 June 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined20 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
9 April 2013Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestryBROWNS MINE RD.
25 April 2009Recreation and ceremony3.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
12 April 1998Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
29 March 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKentucky Division of Forestrynot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Crittenden County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 44 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 44 workings within 5 miles of Frances: 22 past producers, 11 occurrences, 8 prospects, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Fluorine-Fluorite, Fluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, Zinc, Zinc, Lead. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Mineral Ridge - Claylick Fluorspar MinesFluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, LeadProducer1870
Moore Hill Group Fluorspar MinesFluorine-Fluorite, Lead, ZincProducer1900
Pigmy MineFluorine-Fluorite, Lead, ZincPast Producer
Western Kentucky DistrictFluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, Lead, SilverPast Producer1914
Yandell MinesCobalt, Diatomite, Manganese, Nickel, ZincPast Producer1902
Blue MineFluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, LeadPast Producer
Eva Tanguay MineFluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, LeadPast Producer
DavenportFluorine-Fluorite, ZincPast Producer1918, 1925
Lafayette MineFluorine-Fluorite, ZincPast Producer1888, 1900
Marble GroupFluorine-Fluorite, ZincProspectUnderground

Every working recorded in Crittenden County

Storms near this place

8 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Frances in 8 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 flood, 1 tornado, 1 heavy rain. The reports record 1 death. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2008FloodFrances1 killed, $20,000A young girl drowned in floodwaters on Highway 855 between Frances and Salem shortly before sunrise. The child was a passenger in a vehicle driven by her mother. The vehicle plunged into about eight feet of water that was over the road at a creek crossing. The vehicle immediately began floating, and both the mother and child exited. The mother lost her grip on the child, and the child immediately went under water. A boat was used to locate the child within ten minutes. Rescue workers retrieved the child, who was caught up in debris or tree limbs in about eight feet of water. The child was given CPR and rushed to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The area is known to flood by local residents, and it was marked by an orange high water sign. The mother was new to the area and likely unfamiliar with the flooding problems there. About 5.5 inches of rain had fallen the night before the drowning. Countywide, numerous roads were covered with water. Several roads were closed for a few days, including Highway 120.
May 1995Tornado (F2)Frances$250,000no account filed
August 2013Thunderstorm WindFrances$4,000A wind gust to 58 mph was measured by a trained spotter at Frances. A tree was blown down, blocking Kentucky Highway 70 near Mexico.
February 2025FloodFrances-Flash flooding from earlier in the evening transitioned to areal flooding before midnight. Highway 902 remained closed.
February 2025Flash FloodFrances-Flash flooding closed a portions of Highway 902 near the Dry Branch.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindFrances-Two tool sheds were destroyed. A grain silo was damaged, and there was shingle damage to homes.
April 1999Thunderstorm WindFrances-Large tree limbs were blown down.
October 2006Heavy RainFrances-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Crittenden County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Owens School (historical)2.2 miles18
Mexico2.4 miles18
View3.0 miles21
Lilydale3.5 miles18
Centerville (historical)3.5 miles18
Fredonia (historical)3.9 miles18
Crayne4.7 miles20
Dycusburg4.8 miles18

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on FrancesAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5478474The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 492431. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.