Farmington, Missouri

Farmington is a city in St. Francois County located 60 miles (97 km) south of St. Louis in the Lead Belt region in Missouri in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,240. It is the county seat of St. Francois County. The Farmington Micropolitan Statistical Area includes St. Francois County and Washington County and has a population of 90,554 as of 2010. Farmington is a component of the St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL Combined Statistical Area, also known as Greater St. Louis.

Farmington was established in 1822 as Murphy's Settlement, named for William Murphy of Kentucky who first visited the site in 1798. When St. Francois County was organized, the town was briefly called St. Francois Court House and later renamed to Farmington. A band of peaceful Onsaga-Osage Native Americans were slaughtered in 1801 and their lands captured by settlers in the infamous Battle of Red Grass Hill. Twelve pioneers were injured while 260 Native Americans were reportedly killed in battle, wounded, or executed shortly thereafter. A marker, bearing the site of the battle, was a prominent display until 1951 when it was stolen by vandals.