Farmington, Maine, United States

🇺🇸 Farmington is a town in and the county seat of Franklin County, Maine, United States. Farmington is home to the University of Maine at Farmington, Nordica Memorial Auditorium, the Nordica Homestead, and the annual Farmington Fair.

History The area was once territory of the Canibas tribe of Abenaki Indians. They had two camps located near Farmington Falls, with fields cleared for cultivation of maize and potatoes. Their fort's stockade enclosed about an acre at the centre of what is today Farmington Falls village. A group from Topsham arrived in 1776 to explore the area and lay out a town, called Plantation No. 1 or Sandy River Plantation, but permanent settlement was delayed by the Revolutionary War.

In 1781, the first settlers arrived, the same year a sawmill was established. On February 1, 1794, Sandy River Plantation was incorporated as Farmington, named for its unusually fertile soil. Beginning with a cluster of log houses at Farmington Falls, the town grew quickly and prospered. Agriculture was an important early occupation, with hay a principal product. Orchards yielded apples and other fruit. Farmington became one of the largest wool producing towns in New England, with many herds of sheep grazing the hills and intervales.

The town's water power attracted industry, including five lumber mills, two sash, blind and door factories, two brickyards, a foundry, a rake factory, three gristmills, nearly a dozen carriage factories, a cheese factory, two corn canning factories, two reaper machine factories, a spool factory and a tannery. As a regional centre for manufacturing, trade and agriculture, Farmington was designated county seat when Franklin County was formed in 1838. In 1859, the Androscoggin Railroad completed its line from Leeds Junction to Farmington, carrying freight and tourists.

In 1879, the town became the southern terminus for the narrow gauge Sandy River Railroad (later part of the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad), making it a gateway to the Rangeley Lake and Sugarloaf Mountain areas. Farmington suffered a devastating fire on October 22, 1886, when thirty-three houses, nineteen stores, three churches, the county jail and the post office were destroyed. The 1877 Methodist Church designed by noted architect Arthur H. Vinal survived. Farmington is today a college town and resort area.

Geography Farmington is drained by Wilson Stream, Temple Stream, Beaver Brook and the Sandy River.

The town is crossed by U.S. Route 2 and Maine State Routes 4, 27, 43, 133 and 149. It borders the towns of Industry and New Sharon to the east, Chesterville to the south, Wilton to the south-west, Temple to the west, and Strong and New Vineyard to the north.

Farmington is divided into four local areas and sometimes mapped as such. They are West Farmington, Fairbanks, Farmington Falls, and Farmington (downtown). Each except Fairbanks has its own zip code, but all are within Farmington's town limits.

Neighborhoods • Downtown Farmington – The main part of town, downtown has several banks, houses, stores, and public facilities. The University of Maine at Farmington is next to downtown. Downtown is at the intersection of Main Street and Broadway Street. • West Farmington – West Farmington is at the junction of U.S. 2 and SR 43. Titcomb Mountain is in West Farmington. The Whistle Stop Rail-Trail starts at Oakes Street and continues to East Wilton, Wilton and Jay. Bikers, hikers, ATVs, snowmobiles, and cross-country skiers use the trail. There is also a gas station, Madores. The Zip code is 04992. • Farmington Falls – Farmington Falls is at the junction of U.S. 2, SR 41 and SR 156. There are some houses and a church. The Sandy River passes through here. The zip code is 04940. • Fairbanks – Fairbanks once housed a school, and has a trading post and some restaurants. It is at the junction of SR 4 and SR 27. It is part of the 04938 Zip Code. The Lillian Nordica House is in Fairbanks. • Wilton Road – U.S. 2 passes through Farmington. This area is mostly businesses. There is a Walmart, Hannaford, KFC, Taco Bell, Subway, Pizza Hut and Ford, GM, and Chrysler dealerships. There are two Dunkin Donuts off Wilton Road: one near Big Lots, and one near a Citgo gas station. Other businesses are on Wilton Road, where the zip code is 04938. • Front Street – Front Street is a street behind downtown. There are a few houses before the intersection at Broadway. There was a restaurant that served pizza and gelato called the Stone Hearth Cafe (now closed). The Narrow Gauge Square has a cinema, an eye doctor, and a few stores. Prescott Field is for baseball, softball, and soccer for the University of Maine at Farmington. It is the main way to get to the Sandy River swimming area. Giffords is on the corner of Main and Front Streets. Front Street is considered Historic Farmington's main street.

Sites of interest • Farmington Historical Society • Nordica Memorial Homestead • Titcomb Mountain • Sandy River • Mount Blue Middle School • University of Maine at Farmington Farmington is home to a number of historic properties and districts. These include the Cutler Memorial Library, Farmington Historic District, First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Franklin County Courthouse, Free Will Baptist Meetinghouse, Greenacre, Chester Greenwood House, Merrill Hall, Nordica Homestead, Old Union Meetinghouse, Hiram Ramsdell House and the Tufts House.

University Farmington is home to The University of Maine at Farmington, part of Maine's public university system. UMF had a full-time enrollment of 1,800 in 2016.