Farmington’s post office opened in 1856, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns · #135 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of Farmington was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Its Register listings are the Church of the Advent, the Daniel F. Akin House and the Exchange Bank Building. Its Register listings are the Church of the Advent, the Daniel F. Akin House and the Exchange Bank Building. Below: 16 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Farmington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).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 40% of U.S. towns, #135 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Farmington’s overall grade.
Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Farmington’s 1.3 sits near the middle of its state (52% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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.
1885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Farmington, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1930s. 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.
Settlers began arriving in Empire Township, in which Farmington grew, in the early 1850s. The village of Dakota City began around the intersection of the Minnesota Central, Hastings, and Dakota railroads, and the Vermillion River. The popular city train station in Dakota City was Farmington Station and non-residents began confusing the names and calling the town Farmington. The town's name was then permanently changed to Farmington. It derives from the numerous farms near the original town site. Farmington received its village charter in 1872, making it Dakota County's second-oldest community after the county seat, Hastings.
The Farmington post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Farmington rank for history?
Farmington is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #135 of 273 in Minnesota. 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?
Three places: the Church of the Advent (listed 1979), the Daniel F. Akin House (1979) and the Exchange Bank Building (1979).
How old are the homes in Farmington?
6% of Farmington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1998.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (14), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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