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.
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.
Frances School Gymnasiumlisted 1993 · 0.2 miles away
Topographic sheets covering this place
13 surveys from 18 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1928 USGS Eddyville quadrangle1:48000
- 1931 USGS Eddyville quadrangle1:62500
- 1936 USGS Eddyville quadrangle1:48000
- 1949 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1950 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS Dycusburg quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Eddyville quadrangle1:62500
- 1961 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1964 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1984 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:100000
- 1986 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:100000
- 1987 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000
Fires near this place
19 since 1998Regional 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/undetermined | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 September 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.5 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 24 August 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 6 July 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | BROWNS MI |
| 25 June 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 9 April 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | BROWNS MINE RD. |
| 25 April 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 3.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 12 April 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 29 March 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 44 shownRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral Ridge - Claylick Fluorspar Mines | Fluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, Lead | Producer | 1870 | |
| Moore Hill Group Fluorspar Mines | Fluorine-Fluorite, Lead, Zinc | Producer | 1900 | |
| Pigmy Mine | Fluorine-Fluorite, Lead, Zinc | Past Producer | ||
| Western Kentucky District | Fluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, Lead, Silver | Past Producer | 1914 | |
| Yandell Mines | Cobalt, Diatomite, Manganese, Nickel, Zinc | Past Producer | 1902 | |
| Blue Mine | Fluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, Lead | Past Producer | ||
| Eva Tanguay Mine | Fluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, Lead | Past Producer | ||
| Davenport | Fluorine-Fluorite, Zinc | Past Producer | 1918, 1925 | |
| Lafayette Mine | Fluorine-Fluorite, Zinc | Past Producer | 1888, 1900 | |
| Marble Group | Fluorine-Fluorite, Zinc | Prospect | Underground |
Storms near this place
8 since 1995Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2008 | Flood | Frances | 1 killed, $20,000 | A 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 1995 | Tornado (F2) | Frances | $250,000 | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Frances | $4,000 | A 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 2025 | Flood | Frances | - | Flash flooding from earlier in the evening transitioned to areal flooding before midnight. Highway 902 remained closed. |
| February 2025 | Flash Flood | Frances | - | Flash flooding closed a portions of Highway 902 near the Dry Branch. |
| May 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Frances | - | Two tool sheds were destroyed. A grain silo was damaged, and there was shingle damage to homes. |
| April 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Frances | - | Large tree limbs were blown down. |
| October 2006 | Heavy Rain | Frances | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owens School (historical) | 2.2 miles | 18 | |
| Mexico | 2.4 miles | 18 | |
| View | 3.0 miles | 21 | |
| Lilydale | 3.5 miles | 18 | |
| Centerville (historical) | 3.5 miles | 18 | |
| Fredonia (historical) | 3.9 miles | 18 | |
| Crayne | 4.7 miles | 20 | |
| Dycusburg | 4.8 miles | 18 |
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 Frances | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q5478474 | The 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.












