Editing Farmington, Minnesota (section)

==History==
[[File:Farmington-Exchange.jpg|thumb|The Exchange Bank Building in downtown Farmington]]
Settlers began arriving in Empire Township, in which Farmington grew, in the early 1850s. The village of Dakota City began around the intersection of the Minnesota Central, Hastings, and Dakota railroads, and the [[Vermillion River (Minnesota)|Vermillion River]].<ref Name="DH">[http://www.dakotahistory.org/county/farmington.asp [ County History &#93; Dakota County Historical Society<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807125759/http://www.dakotahistory.org/county/farmington.asp |date=August 7, 2008}}</ref> The popular city train station in Dakota City was Farmington Station and non-residents began confusing the two names and identifying the town as Farmington. The town's name was then permanently changed from Dakota City to Farmington. The present name was given for the numerous farms near the original town site.<ref>{{cite book|last=Upham|first=Warren|title=Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance|url=https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog|year=1920|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society|page=[https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog/page/n186 167]}}</ref> Farmington received its village charter in 1872, making it the second-oldest community in Dakota County after the county seat, Hastings.<ref name="ReferenceA">Over the Years. Vol IX. 3. Dakota County Historical Society, 199-200. Print.</ref>

A notable event in Farmington's history is the movement of the [[Dakota County Fair]] to Farmington in 1869. Another event, the Great Fire of Farmington on November 22, 1879, destroyed several houses, stores, a hotel, and a grain elevator in the current downtown area. The fire was started by a firework cart that was knocked over in a buggy accident.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Schreier|first=David|title=Flames Over Farmington|journal=Over the Years|date=November 1992|volume=32|issue=2|page=24|url=http://www.ci.farmington.mn.us/Departments/Fire/FirePdfs/Over_the_Years_Flahmes_Over-Farmington.pdf|access-date=March 11, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Emery|first=John|title=The Great Fire|url=http://www.geocities.ws/fahsmn/the_great_fire.htm|access-date=March 11, 2014|newspaper=Farmington Press}}</ref> Farmington High School graduated its first class in 1884. Farmington was one of the first communities in the United States to offer rural free mail delivery in 1897.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

The town continued to grow throughout the 20th century. The city celebrated its centennial in 1972. Recently the city has expanded to include several suburban neighborhoods north of the original downtown. Farmington is still separated by Lakeville to the north and west by farms, but it continues to be incorporated in the expanding suburbs of the [[Minneapolis-St. Paul]] [[metropolitan area]].

Farmington is home to three properties listed on the [[List of Registered Historic Places in Dakota County, Minnesota|Register of Historic Places]] for Dakota County: the [[Daniel F. Akin House]], the [[Church of the Advent (Farmington, Minnesota)|Church of the Advent]], and the [[Exchange Bank Building (Farmington, Minnesota)|Exchange Bank Building]].<ref Name="DH">[http://www.dakotahistory.org/county/farmington.asp [ County History &#93; Dakota County Historical Society<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807125759/http://www.dakotahistory.org/county/farmington.asp |date=August 7, 2008}}</ref>