Francisco, North Carolina


Francisco is an unincorporated community in northern Stokes County in the U.S. state of North Carolina, approximately thirteen miles northwest of the county seat, Danbury, on North Carolina State Highway 89, and less than three miles from the North Carolina/Virginia border.
The community is located adjacent to the Dan River and includes a volunteer fire station, Francisco Elementary School, a trash disposal and recycling site, a Presbyterian church, and a Ruritan meeting house/community building. At one time, Francisco had its own post-office address. At its closing in the 1960s, Francisco addresses were consolidated with another near by post-office address and became Rural Route 2, Westfield, NC.
The name "Francisco" has its origin from the Francis family, which has long inhabited the community. Ancestors of Joseph Francis owned and operated a general store, in the area where the community is now located, called the Francis Company; Francis Co. for short. The Francis Co. received so many shipments from nearby towns for the local farmers that eventually it became its own post-office and address - Francisco, NC. However, some people argue that the community got its name from the combination of Francis and the Collins families' last names,-llins.
A list of the families that have long resided in Francisco include: Francis, Jessup, George, Collins, Shelton, Dunkley, Nunn, Simmons, Hooker, Moir, Faries, Martin, Palmer, Pack & Wright.
The R. W. George Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.