Farmington, Maine

Farmington is the county seat of Franklin County, Maine, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 7,760. Farmington is home to the University of Maine at Farmington, the Nordica Memorial Auditorium, the Homestead, and the annual Farmington Fair.

History
The area was once territory of the Canibas tribe of Abenaki Indians. They had two camps located near Farmington Falls, with fields cleared for cultivation of maize and potatoes. Their fort's stockade enclosed about an acre at the center of what is today Farmington Falls village. A group from Topsham arrived in 1776 to explore the area and lay out a town, called Plantation No. 1 or Sandy River Plantation, but permanent settlement was delayed by the Revolutionary War.

In 1781, the first settlers arrived, the same year a sawmill was established. On February 1, 1794, Sandy River Plantation was incorporated as Farmington, named for its unusually fertile soil. Beginning with a cluster of log houses at Farmington Falls, the town grew quickly and prospered. Agriculture was an important early occupation, with hay a principal product. Orchards yielded apples and other fruit. Farmington became one of the largest wool producing towns in New England, with many herds of sheep grazing the hills and intervales.

The town's water power attracted industry, including five lumber mills, two sash, blind and door factories, two brickyards, a foundry, a rake factory, three gristmills, nearly a dozen carriage factories, a cheese factory, two corn canning factories, two mowing machine factories, a spool factory and a tannery. As a regional center for manufacturing, trade and agriculture, Farmington was designated county seat when Franklin County was formed in 1838. In 1859, the Androscoggin Railroad completed its line from Leeds Junction to Farmington, carrying freight and tourists.

In 1879, the town became the southern terminus for the narrow gauge Sandy River Railroad (later part of the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad), making it a gateway to the Rangeley Lake and Sugarloaf Mountain areas. Farmington suffered a devastating fire on October 22, 1886, when thirty-three houses, nineteen stores, three churches, the county jail and the post office were destroyed. The 1877 Methodist Church designed by noted architect Arthur H. Vinal survived. Farmington is today a college town and resort area.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 56 square miles (145.1 km2), of which, 55.8 square miles (144.6 km2) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km2) of it (0.36%) is water. Farmington is drained by Wilson Stream, Temple Stream, Beaver Brook and the Sandy River.

The town is crossed by U.S. Route 2 and Maine State Routes 4, 27, 43, 133, and 149. It borders the towns of Industry and New Sharon to the east, Chesterville to the south, Wilton to the southwest, Temple to the west, and Strong and New Vineyard to the north.

Farmington is divided up into four local areas and is sometimes mapped as such. These areas are West Farmington, Fairbanks, Farmington Falls, and Farmington (downtown). All areas except Fairbanks have their own zip code, but they are all still within Farmington's town limits.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,410 people, 2,813 households, and 1,533 families residing in the town. The population density was 132.8 people per square mile (51.2/km2). There were 3,048 housing units at an average density of 54.6 persons/sq mi (21.1 persons/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.48% White, 0.20% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. 0.82% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,813 households out of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples living together, 9.1% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 45.5% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the town the population was spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 25.0% from 18 to 24, 21.5% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 81.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $26,814, and the median income for a family was $33,656. Males had a median income of $27,569 versus $21,101 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,982. About 18.0% of families and 22.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.6% of those under the age of 18 and 5.4% ages 65 or older.

Government
Farmington is the county seat of Franklin County and as a result has many administrative buildings such as a courthouse. It is governed by a board of selectmen and holds an annual town meeting.

Sites of interest
Farmington is home to a number of historic properties and districts. These include the Cutler Memorial Library, Farmington Historic District, First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Franklin County Courthouse, Free Will Baptist Meetinghouse, Greenacre, Chester Greenwood House, Merrill Hall, Nordica Homestead, Old Union Meetinghouse, Hiram Ramsdell House and the Tufts House.
 * Farmington Historical Society
 * Nordica Memorial Homestead
 * Titcomb Mountain

Prophecy
Farmington is the subject of a prophecy by the Quaker Licia Kuenning (formerly Lisa Bieberman) about a Coming New Order in the town. This was originally prophesied for Tuesday 6 June 2006 but, after gathering more than 80 people together with no apparent miracles on that date, is now prophesied "within the next few years".

According to the prophecy, after the coming of the new order, within the municipal limits of Farmington:
 * There will be no death and no illness (except the remnants of earlier illnesses which will go away in three days or less)
 * There will be no crime or bad behavior. You will be safe in Farmington; nothing will harm you here.
 * If one goes outside the borders of Farmington at that time one will not be protected in this particular way, though one will be no worse off than before.

Notable people



 * Edward Abbott, clergyman, journalist, author
 * Jacob Abbott, author, educator
 * Elizabeth Chase Allen, author, journalist, poet
 * Donald Baillargeon, television host
 * Hiram Belcher, US congressman
 * Supply Belcher, composer, musician
 * Nathan Cutler, politician
 * Robert Goodenow, US congressman
 * Chester Greenwood, the inventor of earmuffs and the whistling tea kettle.
 * S. Clifton Ives, Methodist bishop
 * Gregory Kearney, political cartoonist
 * Ray LaMontagne, folk singer
 * Janet T. Mills, state attorney general
 * Peter Mills, politician
 * Samuel P. Morrill, US congressman and minister
 * Lillian Nordica, singer
 * Dan Simoneau, cross country skier
 * Seth Wescott, first Olympic gold medalist in Snowboard Cross
 * Chandler Woodcock, state senator