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First Methodist Episcopal Church of WalworthFirst Methodist Episcopal Church of Walworth · Photo: DanielPenfield · CC BY-SA 4.0
BHistory
History · Farmington

Farmington’s post office opened in 1820, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #634 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Most of Farmington was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1820.

1820first post office
3on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Farmington began

When was Farmington founded?

1820

The Farmington post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, New Salem (1818), Norton's Mills (1844) and Mertensia (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 4,214 in 18202020 census: 14,170206 years

How historic is Farmington?

B

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
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 56% of U.S. towns, #634 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Farmington’s overall grade.
Founding era1820, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19405.4% of homes (±2.0) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register3 listings, 6 historic buildings, 4.1 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 16%

New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Farmington’s 4.1 sits below most of its state (32% of New York towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% 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 (±2.0 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.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Farmington are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Farmington, and 6 old place names are still on the map.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1820 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 19003 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1969. Watch Farmington change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Farmington’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Farmington’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Farmington had its own post office from 1820 to 1901. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

New Salem
1818–1820
Farmington
1820–1901
Norton's Mills
1844–1867
Mertensia
1888–1934
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BrownsvilleFarmington Manufactured Home CommunityHathaway CornersHunt's Mobile Home ParkMertensiaWoodlawn Court Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
School Number 10schoolSchool Number 11schoolSchool Number 12schoolTroop E Heliportairport
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Farmington
HathawayNorth Farmington FriendsPowerSalemSouth Farmington

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

People over time

Farmington, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00018501900195020004,214 in 1820Low: 1,399

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1820 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Farmington’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Farmington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Farmington.

Read it all →

Farmington was part of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. The town was formed along with its county in 1789, and settlement of the region began the same year. Many of the early settlers were Quakers from Berkshire County, Massachusetts. In 1824, Arthur Power left Farmington with two of his sons and other Quakers to found Farmington, Michigan.

The Farmington Quaker Crossroads Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Farmington, 1814 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1814Born hereElbridge G. Lapham is born here
  3. 1818Post officeThe New Salem post office opens
  4. 1820Post officeThe New Salem post office closes
  5. 1820Post officeThe Farmington post office opens
  6. 1823Born hereCatharine A. F. Stebbins is born here
  7. 1836Born hereWilliam H. Payne is born here
  8. 1844Post officeThe Norton's Mills post office opens
  9. 1867Post officeThe Norton's Mills post office closes
  10. 1896Born hereHarold F. Loomis is born here
  11. 20th century
  12. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1901Post officeThe Farmington post office closes
  14. 21st century
  15. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 14,275
By decade

Farmington, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Sunset Over the Thruway2022Sunset Over the ThruwayNYSThruwayLastDayOfTolltakersExit44Plaza2020NYSThruwayLastDayOfTolltakersExit44PlazaHerendeen Homestead2020Herendeen HomesteadI-90 West Thruway - Exit 44 - NY3322018I-90 West Thruway - Exit 44 - NY332Finger Lakes Racetrack scoreboard by tmaioli2007Finger Lakes Racetrack scoreboard by tmaioliFarmington, New York2004Farmington, New York
On the map

Farmington on the map, 1900 to 1969

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Farmington. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Farmington on the 1900 USGS mapFarmington on the 1951 USGS mapFarmington on the 1969 USGS map1900Macedon sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Farmington.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Farmington

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
Farmington Quaker Crossroads Historic District
First Methodist Episcopal Church of WalworthFarmington Quaker Crossroads Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
First Methodist Episcopal Church of WalworthBuilding
All 3 listings
Farmington Quaker Crossroads Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2007South Farmington Friends Cemetery and Meetinghouse SiteSite · listed 2024

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Farmington

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Elbridge G. LaphamAmerican politician · b. 1814
H
Harold F. LoomisAmerican botanist and myriapodologist · b. 1896
William H. PayneAmerican translator · b. 1836
Catharine A. F. StebbinsAmerican suffragist and abolitionist · b. 1823
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Victor5 historic placesBManchester4 historic placesACanandaigua3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMacedon2 historic placesB+

Questions about Farmington’s history

What year was Farmington founded?

The Farmington post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Farmington rank for history?

Farmington is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #634 of 758 in New York. 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 First Methodist Episcopal Church of Walworth (listed 2017), the Farmington Quaker Crossroads Historic District (2007) and the South Farmington Friends Cemetery and Meetinghouse Site (2024).

How old are the homes in Farmington?

5% of Farmington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1988.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (6), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.