Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1838.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Farmington’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Farmington is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Farmington’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 Farmington’s 4.9 sits above most of its state (75% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.5 points). Two sources give 1834.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Farmington’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.
Farmington was founded in 1834, with its post office being established on January 6, 1836. The area was first inhabited by members of the Potawatomi tribe. The city is named after Farmington, Connecticut.
Before and during the Civil War, the city was involved in the Underground Railroad, and there are several remaining homes that were safehouses. In the early 1900s, many Italian immigrants settled in Farmington.
Passages that mention Farmington, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Fulton county, Illinois1879 · page 681Read the page →
Read the text
This is one of the most beautifully situated towns throughout this part of the State. It is built upon an eminence which overlooks one of the most fertile sections of the Northwest. A better site could not have been selected, even in this fair country. Farmington was laid out by Joseph Cone, George W. Little and Hiram Palmer, Oct. 9, 1834, u])on section 1. Mr. Cone came to the township in 1833 and settled ui)on the southwest quarter of section 1. He first lived in a log cabin which had l)een erected upon this place some
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.
Timeline
Farmington, 1834 to 1980
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born 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.
Farmington’s post office has been open since 1838.
Gone or out of use
Maplewood Mine Number 1mine
1cemetery inside Farmington
Oak Ridge
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Farmington’s history
What year was Farmington founded?
In 1834, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Farmington’s post office opened in 1838, and the census of 1880 counted 1,111 people here.
How does Farmington rank for history?
Farmington is more historic than 90% 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.
What is on the National Register in Farmington?
One place: the Hiram Palmer House (listed 1999).
How old are the homes in Farmington?
39% of Farmington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.5 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1951.
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 (7), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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