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 2000 US Census, the population was 13924; a 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 16097. It is the county seat of St. Francois County. The Farmington Micropolitan Statistical Area embraces St. Francois County and Washington County. Farmington was established in 1822 after its agricultural history and was previously known as Murphy's Settlement 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 then later renamed to Farmington. Arriving upon land west of the Mississippi River in 1798—which was, at that time, part of the upper Louisiana Territory and under Spanish rule—was the Irish born William Murphy. Murphy was searching for the ideal site to relocate his family and, as the tradition goes, came to find a spring near the now-standing St. Francois County Courthouse with the aid of a local Native American. Deciding that this was an excellent place to set up home, Murphy acquired a Spanish Land Grant, allowing him and his family to establish a settlement along the St. Francois River. In his travels back to Kentucky, Murphy passed, leaving it up to his wife, Sarah Barton Murphy, and their grown sons to establish the settlement--which they did when arriving to the site around 1800. Named Murphy's ...