Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1840.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Farmer City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Farmer City is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Farmer City’s overall grade.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Farmer City’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1837.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.2 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Farmer City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Kickapoo and Potawatomi Native American tribes lived on the prairie and woodlands around Salt Creek and other local streams. The westward push of traders and adventurers led to settlers around 1825. Dennis Hurley is believed to be the first white settler in the area. Hurley built a cabin in the area, which became known as Hurley's Grove, with other families settling nearby. Some of the founding families were the Kirbys, McCords, Clearwaters, Watsons, Johnson, Webb, Blalach, Weedmans, Coveys, Cummings, and Huddlestons. Hurley's Grove was just south of present-day Farmer City, with increased population by 1837, becoming part of DeWitt County in 1839.
Passages that mention Farmer City, cut from the printed page as they were published.
... History of De Witt county, Illinois. With illustrations descriptive of the scenery, and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers1882 · page 221Read the page →
Read the text
in Vermillion county until 18.32, when he came to what is now known as Santa Anna township, then a part of McLean county. He squatted on a tract of land, on which the town of Farmer City now stands. When the lands came into market he purchased the forty and afterwards entered three other " fortys." He laid out the town, and his wife gave it the name of Mount Pleasant ; a name which it retained until a few years ago, when it was changed to Farmer City. When Mr. Clearwaters came to
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Farmer City, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1837, according to Wikidata. Farmer City’s post office opened in 1840, and the census of 1870 counted 537 people here.
How does Farmer City rank for history?
Farmer City is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Farmer City?
34% of Farmer City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1958.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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