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History · Farmer

Farmer’s post office opened in 1890, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Saint Peter's Grotto. Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1930.

1890first post office
1on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Farmer began

When was Farmer founded?

1890

The Farmer post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 132 in 19302020 census: 15136 years
Founding year: the first Farmer post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Farmer’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 Farmer are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18993 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1985. Watch Farmer change.Old housesHalf of Farmer’s homes were built before 1950.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Farmer’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Farmer’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
On the map

Farmer on the map, 1899 to 1985

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

Farmer on the 1899 USGS mapFarmer on the 1973 USGS mapFarmer on the 1985 USGS map1899Alexandria sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Farmer came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Farmer.

Read it all →

A post office called Farmer was established in 1890, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1992. The town was incorporated in 1920. A majority of the early settlers being farmers caused the name to be selected.

Farmer is home to Saint Peter's Grotto. The grotto was built between 1926 and 1933 by Fr. Peter N. Scheier and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Farmer, 1890 to 1992

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Farmer post office opens
  3. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1992Post officeThe Farmer post office closes
By decade

Farmer, decade by decade

Today1 recent
SDMap-doton-Farmer2004SDMap-doton-Farmer
On the National Register

1 historic place in Farmer

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2001
Saint Peter's Grotto
Saint Peter's Grotto
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Folk Art1
Saint Peter's GrottoFolk Art

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

People over time

Farmer, census by census

010019401960198020002020Peak: 132

Between 10 and 132 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Farmer

Nobody well known was born in Farmer itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
AlexanderMagician · b. 1880
Thomas H. WerdelAmerican politician · b. 1905
Shannon BolinAmerican singer and actor · b. 1917
T
Tony KayserAmerican politician
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Farmer had its own post office from 1890 to 1992.

Farmer
1890–1992
18901960today

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

Questions about Farmer’s history

What year was Farmer founded?

The Farmer post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Farmer?

One place: the Saint Peter's Grotto (listed 2001).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.