BlockBefore

Francis, Oklahoma

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the Northeast Pontotoc census division. It lies in ZIP code area 74844. The Survey maps it on the Francis quadrangle. 244 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 945 feet above sea level.

Francis within Pontotoc County

Population over time

3 figures

Francis fell from 532 to 244 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2000532
2010315-217 (-41%)
2020244-71 (-23%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 13 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

81 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 81 fires within 5 miles of Francis between 1996 and 2020, burning about 3,820 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 20 were 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/undetermined26
Arson/incendiarism20
Debris and open burning18
Power generation/transmission/distribution5
Natural4
Equipment and vehicle use3
Fireworks2
Recreation and ceremony2
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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
14 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresChickasaw AgencyLAMBERT
10 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresChickasaw AgencyMATTHEWS
9 August 2006Debris and open burning33 acresChickasaw AgencyWILLIE
6 August 2008Arson/incendiarism6.0 acresWewoka AgencyBRICK HOUSE
31 August 2011Arson/incendiarism10 acresChickasaw AgencyFULKERSON
3 August 2011Debris and open burning116 acresChickasaw AgencyKILCREASE
20 August 2011Arson/incendiarism50 acresChickasaw AgencyWOODBROOK #2
2 August 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined26 acresChickasaw AgencyPARKS

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Pontotoc County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Francis: 3 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Unknown Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unknown Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Pontotoc County

Storms near this place

18 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Francis in 18 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 9 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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 2024Tornado (EF1)Francis$10,000Emergency Management spotters reported a tornado near State Highway 1 between Happyland and Steedman. A barn was damaged just north of Highway 1 and trees were damaged along the path. The tornado moved north for about a mile and a half.
September 2002Thunderstorm WindFrancis$10Six inch diameter tree limbs were downed.
January 1998Thunderstorm WindFrancis$10Several 3-inch diameter tree limbs were blown down by severe thunderstorm winds.
April 2025Thunderstorm WindFrancis-Social media images showing damage to outbuildings. Location is approximate and event time is estimated from radar observations.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindFrancis-A tree was blown down onto a portion of County Road 1475 approximately four miles east of the community of Francis. The event time is estimated from radar observations.
June 2015Flash FloodFrancis-Road closed due to flooding at E 144 and N 361.
May 2015Tornado (EF0)Francis-A tornado was observed approximately 2 miles northeast of Francis. The tornado moved northeast for about 1 mile before crossing the Canadian River into Seminole County.
April 2008HailFrancis-The hail reportedly covered the ground.
October 2000Tornado (F0)Francis-This small tornado formed about 5 miles southeast of Francis and caused no damage (F0) before dissipating.
June 2022FloodFrancis-no account filed
March 2017HailFrancis-no account filed
April 2011HailFrancis-no account filed
May 2003HailFrancis-no account filed
September 2002HailFrancis-no account filed
May 2001HailFrancis-no account filed
November 1996HailFrancis-no account filed
April 1995HailFrancis-no account filed
April 1993HailFrancis-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pontotoc 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
Oakman3.1 miles13
Byng3.8 miles16
Hird5.3 miles16
Tyrola5.8 miles14
Happyland5.8 miles13
Homer6.5 miles13
Steedman7.3 miles13
Ada8.1 miles16

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 FrancisAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2462895The 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 1093009. 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.