Farmington is a city in St. Francois County located about 75 miles (121 km) southwest of St. Louis in the Lead Belt region in Missouri.

[4] William Murphy migrated from Kentucky to this former area of La Louisiane west of the Mississippi River in 1798, when it was under Spanish rule.

Tradition holds that he was aided by a local Native American, likely Osage, in finding a spring near here.

Deciding that this was an excellent place to settle, Murphy acquired a Spanish Land Grant, allowing him and his family to found a community along the St. Francois River.

His wife Sarah and their grown sons carried out establishing the settlement around 1800.

Sarah is known to have founded the first Protestant Sunday School west of the Mississippi River.

Because Spanish law barred any religious services that were not Roman Catholic, Sarah and her students conducted classes in secret.

The United States acquired this area as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

Murphy's Settlement was renamed Farmington in 1825, taking the name from the area's rich farm land.

In the mid-19th century, Farmington enjoyed growth from construction of the historic Plank Road, which stretched from Pilot Knob to Ste.

4 Cemetery, James Robinson McCormick House, Presbyterian Orphanage of Missouri, and St. Francois County Jail and Sheriff's Residence are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Farmington is a component of the St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL Combined Statistical Area, also known as Greater St. Louis.

The 2020 United States census[14] counted 18,217 people, 6,586 households, and 4,014 families in Farmington.

Of all households, 32.0% consisted of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Approximately 51.21% of the people in Farmington identify themselves as religious or affiliated with a religion.

[17] The Farmington R-VII School District serves the city's need for public education.

The school colors are black and gold and the mascot is the knight (knightette for females).

Other activities include band (marching, jazz, and concert) cheerleading, colorguard, winter guard, dance team, FFA, AFJROTC, TSA, and FBLA.