Farmington, Missouri, United States

🇺🇸 Farmington is a city in St. Francois County located about 75 miles (121 km) south-west of St. Louis in the Lead Belt region in Missouri. It is the county seat of St. Francois County. Farmington was established in 1822 as Murphy's Settlement, named for William Murphy of Kentucky, who first visited the site in 1798. When St. Francois County was organized, the town was briefly called St. Francois Court House and later renamed to Farmington.

History William Murphy migrated from Kentucky to this former area of La Louisiane west of the Mississippi River in 1798, when it was under Spanish rule. Calderon was searching for the ideal site to relocate his family. Tradition holds that he was aided by a local Native American, likely Osage, in finding a spring near here. Deciding that this was an excellent place to settle, Murphy acquired a Spanish Land Grant, allowing him and his family to found a community along the St. Francois River. In his travels back to Kentucky, Murphy died. His wife Sarah and their grown sons carried out establishing the settlement around 1800. They named it Murphy's Settlement. Sarah is known to have founded the first Protestant Sunday School west of the Mississippi River. Because Spanish law barred any religious services that were not Roman Catholic, Sarah and her students conducted classes in secret.

The United States acquired this area as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. It was later designated as part of the Missouri Territory. A post office in Murphy's Settlement was opened in 1817. Missouri was admitted as a state in 1821 as part of the Missouri Compromise. In 1822, William Crawford Murphy contributed 52 acres (210,000 m²) of land here for the county seat of what was soon to be St. Francois County.

Murphy's Settlement was renamed Farmington in 1825, taking the name from the area's rich farm land. Farmington was granted incorporation as a town in 1836 and became a village 20 years later in 1856.

In the mid-19th century, Farmington enjoyed growth from construction of the historic Plank Road, which stretched from Pilot Knob to Ste. Genevieve. It improved the village's access to supplies and markets along the river.

The road was built both to transport supplies from the shipping facilities located along the river to the mines and to move the mines' iron ore to the shipping facilities. This route was soon taken over by the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway.

The first public school was constructed in 1870 and in 1879. Farmington gained recognition as a fourth-class city. In 1981 Farmington became a third-class city.

The Courthouse Square Historic District, East Columbia Historic District, Farmington State Hospital No. 4 Cemetery, James Robinson McCormick House, Presbyterian Orphanage of Missouri, and St. Francois County Jail and Sheriff's Residence are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography Farmington is located at 37°46′55″N 90°25′20″W (37.781932, −90.422145). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.39 square miles (24.32 km²), of which 9.35 square miles (24.22 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) is water.

Demographics The Farmington Micropolitan Statistical Area includes St. Francois County and Washington County and has a population of 90,554 as of 2010. Farmington is a component of the St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL Combined Statistical Area, also known as Greater St. Louis.

The 2020 United States census counted 18,217 people, 6,586 households, and 4,014 families in Farmington. The population density was 1,919.6 per square mile (740.8/km²). There were 7,493 housing units at an average density of 789.6 per square mile (304.7/km²). The racial makeup was 87.02% (15,853) white, 5.76% (1,049) black or African-American, 0.35% (64) Native American, 1.37% (249) Asian, 0.01% (1) Pacific Islander, 0.59% (108) from other races, and 4.9% (893) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 1.8% (340) of the population.

Of the 6,586 households, 26.2% had children under the age of 18; 44.6% were married couples living together; 31.9% had a female householder with no husband present. Of all households, 32.0% consisted of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.3 and the average family size was 3.0.

20.7% of the population was under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 35.0% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.3 years. For every 100 females, the population had 119.8 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 131.2 males.

The 2016-2020 5-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $44,093 (with a margin of error of +/- $6,491) and the median family income was $58,571 (+/- $8,471). Males had a median income of $30,059 (+/- $3,133) versus $26,129 (+/- $4,765) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $28,858 (+/- $2,019). Approximately, 12.5% of families and 16.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.1% of those under the age of 18 and 7.1% of those ages 65 or over.

Religion Approximately 51.21% of the people in Farmington identify themselves as religious or affiliated with a religion. Many of these religious residents identify as Christians—38.08% are Protestants, 7.65% are Roman Catholics, 5.03% identify with another Christian faith, 0.43% are Mormons, 0.03% belong to an Eastern religion, and 0.01% are Jewish.

Economy It is home to an SRG Global manufacturing plant, and U.S. Tool Other major employers in the city are BJC Parkland Health Center, Centene Corp, Farmington Correctional Center and Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center.

Government Farmington's publicly elected government consists of a Mayor and eight City Council members representing the city's four wards who set city policy. The city's policies are carried out by a City Administrator who works closely with the City Clerk, City Council and City Attorney.

Education The Farmington R-VII School District serves the city's need for public education. According to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, there are five elementary schools, two being private, one public intermediate school, one middle school, and one high school in the school district for a total of nine schools. During the 2008–2009 school year, there was a total of 3,743 students and 306 certified staff members enrolled in the Farmington R-VII School District. The school colors are black and gold and the mascot is the knight (knightette for females). Athletics offered in the school district include boys' and girls' basketball, cross country, soccer, swimming, tennis, track, boys' baseball, golf, football, wrestling, and girls' softball and girls' volleyball. Other activities include band (marching, jazz, and concert) cheerleading, colorguard, winter guard, dance team, FFA, AFJROTC, TSA, and FBLA.

Elementary • Jefferson Elementary • Lincoln Intermediate • Roosevelt Elementary • Truman Kindergarten • Washington-Franklin Elementary • W.L. Johns Early Childhood Center; Secondary • Farmington Middle School • Farmington Senior High School • Juvenile Detention Center • Midwest Learning Center; Private schools

Farmington is also home to two private schools. • St. Joseph Catholic School (PK-8) • St. Paul Lutheran School (PK-8) • St. Paul Lutheran High School (9-12)

Public library Farmington has a lending library, the Farmington Public Library.

Attractions • Farmington has a park system, with major parks including Engler Park, Wilson-Rozier Park, and Trimfoot park. • St. Joe State Park is right outside the city limits and attracts ATV riders, campers, horseback riders, bicyclists, and swimmers. The park has recently added an outdoor gun range.

Infrastructure Farmington is located at the crossroads of US 67 and Missouri Hwy 32.