Town, pop 172, located approximately 60 km SE of Regina on Hwy 33 and 50 km N of Weyburn on Hwy 35. First settled around 1900 by Scots from the historic Glengarry County, Ontario, Francis was incorporated as a village in 1904, the same year that the CPR had trains running between Arcola and Regina. Two years later, in 1906, Francis attained town status. The community had a peak population of 263 in 1911, but its numbers have hovered roughly around the current level since the early 1920s. The basis of the area economy is agriculture—largely a combination of grain and livestock production. Francis has a small business community, consisting mainly of farm suppliers; there are two grain elevators. Francis School is a K–6 facility, which had 66 students enrolled in the fall of 2004; students attend Grades 7–12 in the neighbouring village of Sedley. The community has indoor rinks for skating and curling, and three churches.
David McLennan