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Farmington, Illinois

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1912 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Farmington Township. It lies in ZIP code area 61531. The Survey maps it on the Farmington West quadrangle.

Farmington within Fulton County

On record in Farmington

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 16 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

8,301 words on this township

History of Fulton County, Illinois;, published 1879 names this settlement in its chapter on Farmington Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Seth Littler, a brother-in-law of the Marchants, lived in the township a few months in the spring and summer of the year 1827. He then left in company with some of his relatives for the Galena lead mines, which just at that time were causing such excitement. Mr. Littler, however, returned the same year and located near Canton, which at that time was a very small beginning for a town. He died that fall about the time Jonah Marchant settled in Farmington. The creek that heads south of Farmington was named in honor of Mr. Littler.

Passage source: History of Fulton County, Illinois;, published 1879.

Abraham Marchant was the next pioneer to venture so far from civilization. He arrived June 27, 1828, and had to build a small house, one suitable for a smoke-house, before he could have a place to unload his goods from the wagon. He built a better cabin in the fall of the same year, in which he lived until 1835, when he and his brother Jonah each erected a one-story brick dwelling upon the northwest quarter of sec. 13. This property, with several other pieces of land they owned, has passed into other hands. This was called the Marchant settlement for many years, until it was superceded bv the village of Farmington, which Avas started in the year 1830 or*1837.

Passage source: History of Fulton County, Illinois;, published 1879.

Abraliam Marchant, son of Jonah Marchant, was the first white child born in the township. He is at present fifty years old. The first sermon was delivered by Rev. Asa D. West, a local M. E. preacher, in Jonah Marchant's cabin in 1828. In 1832 or 1833 the first school-house was built in the center of what is now the city of Farmington. The first school was taught by Isaac Cutter in one of Ahiras Jones's cabins.

Passage source: History of Fulton County, Illinois;, published 1879.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Farmington Township - it names this place 42 more 42 times.

Storms near this place

33 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Farmington in 33 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 15 thunderstorm wind, 13 hail, 2 flash flood, 1 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2001Thunderstorm WindFarmington1 hurtNumerous trees and power lines were blown down. Three of the trees were 30" in diameter, with several limbs reaching 16" in diameter. A boat on a lake 1 mile north of Farmington was blown off the water onto shore. A fisherman suffered minor injuries to his back.
June 1998Tornado (F1)Farmington$670,000A tornado touched down on the west side of Farmington and travelled to the east southeast. It first severely damaged a lumberyard, ripping off the roof of a large storage facility. Then as it moved into the downtown area, several buildings sustained damage to the back walls, as well as, roof damage. Also, several projectiles were found in this area (2x4s driven into the ground). A block down the road a house lost its roof and then as the tornado moved into the east side of town, the second story of a brick building was demolished. Across the street at the high school, a large garage was destroyed which damaged several vehicles. Also, the gymnasium sustained significant roof and water damage and the new press box and bleachers at the football stadium were destroyed. Damage at the high school was estimated around $400,000. As the tornado lifted on the east side of town, it blew down or damaged numerous trees. No deaths or injuries were reported.
May 2013Thunderstorm WindFarmington$25,000Several large trees were uprooted and a few power lines were knocked down.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindFarmington$20,000A garage was blown off its foundation in Farmington.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindFarmington$10,000A few small trees were snapped off by thunderstorm winds.
August 1999Thunderstorm WindFarmington$10,000Several large tree limbs and power lines were blown down.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindFarmington$8,000Several large trees were blown down.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindFarmington$6,000A few trees were blown down in Farmington.
August 2025LightningFarmington$2,000Lightning struck a utility pole and caused it to shatter at the intersection of North East Street and East Court Street in Farmington.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindFarmington-The emergency manager estimated a wind gust of 60mph in Farmington.
May 2023Thunderstorm WindFarmington-A tree was blown down across IL-116 west of Farmington.
August 2023FloodFarmington-A few roadways in Farmington were covered in water.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindFarmington-Emergency Manager estimated wind speeds of 60 miles per hour.
March 2017Thunderstorm WindFarmington-A large object was blown onto a house.
June 2010Flash FloodFarmington-Around 1.50 of rain fell between 0700 and 0800 CST on top of already saturated ground. This produced rapid flash flooding in northern Fulton County. In the village of Farmington a foot of water covered the streets in the downtown. Most rural roads in the northern part of the county were flooded as drainage ditches were overflowing.
May 2008HailFarmington-One inch diameter hail covered the ground.
September 2008Flash FloodFarmington-High water was flowing across Route 116 near Farmington.
April 2006Thunderstorm WindFarmington-A mobile home was blown off its foundation, siding was damaged and numerous trees and power lines were blown down.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindFarmington-8 inch diameter tree blown down across power lines.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindFarmington-Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous trees, tree limbs, and power lines in Farmington and Norris. Also, the winds destroyed a barn and damaged a large storage building. No damage estimate was available.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindFarmington-A severe thunderstorm downed trees and power lines in Farmington.
April 2025HailFarmington-no account filed
March 2024HailFarmington-no account filed
May 2024HailFarmington-no account filed
April 2023HailFarmington-no account filed
September 2022HailFarmington-no account filed
July 2017HailFarmington-no account filed
November 2016HailFarmington-no account filed
August 2015HailFarmington-no account filed
April 2015HailFarmington-no account filed
August 2012HailFarmington-no account filed
April 2006HailFarmington-no account filed
August 2004HailFarmington-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Fulton County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Forty Acres1.6 miles16
Gilchrist3.9 miles16
Middlegrove5.0 miles16
Norris5.2 miles16
Brereton6.1 miles17
Village Square9.1 miles17
Prospect Heights Addition9.2 miles17
East Lawndale9.3 miles17

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 408290. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.