In its infancy, the city of Elgin had a full-blown identity crisis.
In fact, the town had a post office but no name for months in 1902. One of its founders, C.G. Jones, boldly sought to have the southwest Oklahoma community name derive from the initials of his name.
The powerful U.S. Postal Service – created in 1775 – rejected the proposed town name of “Ceegee.” The alternative name, Elgin, was approved. The name pays homage to the title of a 16th Century Earl in the United Kingdom.
Eventually, the town of Jones was named for C.G. Jones, who would eventually become Oklahoma City’s first mayor and was a two-time territorial legislator.
The Oklahoma City and Western Railroad completed a line linking Chickasha with Lawton in 1903. A stop was included in Elgin. Nevertheless, growth trickled.
The town’s population surpassed 1,000 residents by 1980. Growth was admittedly slow until the last several years, said Elgin Mayor J.J. Francais.
Francais (pronounced frawn-SAY), is a part-time politician and full-time city promoter.
He began serving as Elgin’s major in 2021 and uses much of spare time writing social media posts about good things going on in his adopted hometown. Local eateries, public school successes and city ordinances are among his favorite topics.
UP & COMING
The city has grown to 3,700 people, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. Francais further points to a nearly three-fold tax revenue increase since 2010 and population growth of nearly 5 percent in just the past four years.
“Outsiders wonder why our rival is now Midwest City in athletics,” Francais said of the school’s rising success when playing against larger-class schools.
“A lot of people are moving to Elgin, many from Lawton,” he said. “A lot of our growth is from soldiers stationed at Fort Sill. Much of this growth can be attributed to our outstanding school system.”
Retail follows rooftops. Francais said the city receives calls monthly from prospective business owners who are interested in northeast Comanche County. Additionally, Elgin has been declared the safest city in Oklahoma five years running. The accolade is courtesy of Safewise.com, which tracks and analyzes FBI crime data for communities statewide for its State of Safety survey.
DROPOUT RECOVERY
Francais grew up in Dibble, south of Norman. He dropped out of high school a week into his freshman year. A few years later as an adult, he enrolled at Canadian Valley Technology Center in nearby Chickasha.
He completed general education requirements and finished a business education program there. Francais said a former CV Tech counselor, Peggy Castleberry, had a “measurable” impact on him.
“She told me, ‘People will judge you based on going forward, not your past,’” he said.
A chance meeting with a University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma professor at a grocery store spurred Francais to continue his educational pursuit. He completed a Bachelor of Arts in History degree in 2010. Today, he serves as a USAO board regent.
Francais works for Hilliary Communications, which provides telephone, internet and television services to mostly rural customers. The company also owns a newspaper and several dozen radio stations.
POLITICS & PROMOTING
Francais’ political interest was fueled while he served as an intern in a neighboring county assessor’s office. He describes the office environment at that time as highly contentious. Nevertheless, he said he learned good conflict resolution skills, among other things.
As Elgin’s mayor, Francais spends considerable time promoting businesses on social media. He said his goal is advocating for rural Oklahomans.
“I want residents to know what’s going on so they can be involved in decisions that affect them,” he said.
He allots time, too, to assisting mayors of other small towns – those who do not serve on a full-time basis. Francais was unsuccessful in a bid last year for the vacated Senate District 32 seat.
GROWING PAINS
During the growing season Francais enjoys yard work – both his own and often for others.
“We don’t have enough hands to mow grass,” he said. “Before I was elected, we had bar ditches that had not been mowed in 40 years because it’s nobody’s job.”
A favored pastime of his is reading municipal code books, he said. But when he started educating Elgin residents about code enforcement, pushback ensued. He often spoke with people who told him they lacked the means to maintain high grass inside city limits.
“Many of them did not own a lawnmower,” he said.
So Francais bought a couple mowers with his own money and started a community tool shed.
“People don’t want to buy a chain saw just to cut four limbs,” he said.
Tool shed items are usually returned quickly. Shovels, he said, seem to be the one exception.
