Francis M. Nickell (1843–1913) was a contractor, a builder and a member of the Los Angeles City Council in the 1890s.

Nickell was born about June 1843 in Kentucky, then moved to Kansas and finally to Los Angeles in 1883.

He lived in Santa Monica for three years but finally moved to 228 South Fremont Avenue in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Times reported in his obituary that "he had a finger in the laying of the present metropolis and was engaged upon many of the notable structures" of the early city.

[1][2] Nickell was elected in the 1st Ward of the Los Angeles City Council for two two-year terms between 1890 and 1894 and again between 1896 and 1898.