| A brief history of the import milestones of the community: 1800: The first pioneer to settle in Francois was James Marsden in the very early 1800's, perhaps as early as 1812. 1822:Francois consisted of two families, the Marsden's and the Durnfords. The Next family to settle here were the Childs. 1855:Reverend Edward Coley from the Parish Hall of Hermitage Cove made visits to Francois to hold church services and perform marriages. 1857: Francois consisted of 35 people in seven families. 1870:Lobster canning industry was first established by the Fudge family. 1877:Margaret Kelly is the first teacher on record. She began teaching children in her home for a few hours a day. 1877:Francois received a licensed lay reader. 1877-1918:Two one room schools were built within this time range. The first one shortly after Margaret Kelly began teaching. The first one was destroyed by a snow slide during a harsh winter. The second one was built a few months later in the same place. These buildings also served as churches. 1893: A whale factory was established at nearby Chaleur Bay. 1900: A fortune firm built a lobster canning factory in Francois. 1908: John Penny &Sons of Ramea opened a branch at Francois. 1911:Population increased from 157 to 327. 1922:John Penny & Sons constructed a General Store. 1922:The present Anglican Church was built. 1929: A lighthouse was constructed at Western Point, Francois. Still in operation but no longer manned. 1951:Population increased to 335. 1953:The Government Wharf was built this year. This wharf was the dock for the ferry. Before it was built, the ferry would anchor off shore and people would have to go out in smaller boats and pick up passengers and freight. 1964: Medical clinic was built. This made is possible for residents of the community to see a doctor locally, and cut down on the long trips out of town for minor concerns. Larger medical concerns and emergencies still had, and still do have, to be taken to larger centers. 1965: Power house was built, paving the way for electricity in the town. 1966: Electrical hook-ups accomplished. The households of Francois from here on will get monthly light bills. 1967: Post Office was built and in operation this year. 1968:Telephone service became available for people in their homes. Prior to this the community had access to phone service because there was one at the post office. This service would have been mainly used for emergencies, important messages, and bad news, whereas service for households opened up a way for much more communication to the outside. 1971: Helicopter pad was erected. The helicopter brings the doctor or nurse practitioner and is called in for emergencies such broken bones and heart attacks. 1972:Community wharf was built. This wharf was for the fishermen to dock and weigh fish with help of cranes. Before this, everything was much harder because lifting fish out of the boat had to be done by hand. 1974:The community has been receiving a weekly newspaper for twenty five years. Carriers for the Gulf News started delivering papers in 1974. 1989: Candy Rock Bridge was completed. This bridge is at the eastern end of the community and it is 300 ft long. It was complete in 25 hours by the men of Francois giving free labor. At the far end of the bridge is the garbage incinerator. 1989: Garbage collection began in this year. Garbage is burned in an incinerator. This was a most important addition to our community. Francois is now a very clean place free of trash and without burning, the waste would end up in the harbor and around the town. 1991:Fire Hall was built. The fire department is operated by volunteer members of the community. This fire department does not have fire trucks but instead use all terrain vehicles, and ski-doo's in the winter. The water source is the water fall/ brook that run down through the middle of the community. 1991:Newest St. Simon and St. Jude School were finished. This is a five class room, multi- grade, Kindergarten-Grade12 School. 1996:Community Center that is in existence now was completed this year. This building was built free labor by the men and women of Francois, and arose out of the need for a place to hold public and social events such as wedding receptions, parties, community dances etc. There was a community center before this one was built but this former one was smaller in that it was a house converted into a public center. This was torn down to make way for the present one. 1997:Kids Corner Playground was constructed. This 40ft x 80ft structure had basketball nets, swings, hopscotch board and so on, but most kids use it for hockey and basketball. 2000:Francois community Museum was opened. |
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