RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Welcome to Franco ...

Franco is located in Wise County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Franco, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1922.

Franco is 2,220 feet [677 m] above sea level.<2> In other words, the altitude of Franco is about ½ mile above sea level.

Time Zone: Franco lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Franco: 276

Communities near Franco ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Franco.

  • Norton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
    • Norton is located in Norton City
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,985 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norton <4>
  • Lebanon
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Wise
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Jenkins
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins
    • Jenkins is located in Letcher County (KY)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,895 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jenkins <4>
  • Coeburn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Clintwood
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Pound
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Saint Paul
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Haysi
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haysi have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haysi
    • Haysi is located in Dickenson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 460 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haysi <4>
  • Nickelsville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Franco. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Franco.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Franco. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Franco.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Franco. See our Newspapers Page for Franco.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Franco ...

Looking for more information about Franco? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Franco, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Franco.

Adding Franco to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Franco in the GNIS. For more information, see the Referenced GNIS Codes section on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Franco was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

From that list, the Franco post office opened in 1922.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Franco.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Virginia's counties, including Wise, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Franco - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/