County · Southeast Missouri / Lead Belt / Mississippi Corridor
St. Francois County
Short answer
The heart of the Old Lead Belt: Farmington is the seat, the Park Hills/Flat River area sits on former lead-mining ground, and the legacy left mine tailings (chat) and federally documented cleanup to handle calmly via EPA and DNR.
Towns, cities & local places in St. Francois County
BismarckBonne TerreBonne Terre MineDesloge Farmington Knob LickLeadingtonLeadwoodMissouri Mines State Historic SitePark HillsSt. Joe State Park
- Region
- Southeast Missouri / Lead Belt / Mississippi Corridor
- Local notes
- 24
- Notes nearby
- 6
- Nearby counties
- 6
Property tax snapshot
Missouri has no single county rate. A bill is the sum of every taxing district on the parcel — county, school, city, fire, library, ambulance — and the school levy varies most within a county.
Practical guides
Common county next steps in St. Francois County
Use these when the local office, parcel, vehicle, or deadline matters.
Property tax estimator Estimate a real-property bill, then confirm the exact parcel value and levy locally. Personal property tax guide Sort January 1 vehicle ownership, paid receipts, and statements of non-assessment. Vehicle title checklist Plan the license-office trip around title timing, inspections, emissions, and receipts. Assessment appeal guide If a value looks wrong, start with the county deadline and evidence about market value.
Local notes
Local rules and costs to check in St. Francois County
Short notes on the taxes, paperwork, and local-government layers here — grouped by topic, each linking the official sources behind it.
Building permits can start with the county or the city St. Francois County lists a county building permit through the clerk, while Farmington has its own city building-permit process. Road and Bridge is the county-road contact St. Francois County lists Road and Bridge as the contact for county road maintenance, county bridges, and low-water crossing information. Personal-property filing starts with the assessor e-file St. Francois County's assessor offers an e-file path for personal-property assessment lists, with the county assessment deadline clearly noted. Farmington business licenses route through city review Farmington's official business-license page says applications are routed to building, zoning, and fire officials before the city clerk issues the license. Bonne Terre Mine: deep-mine tours and underground diving The former Bonne Terre lead mine is now a privately operated attraction offering deep-mine walking tours and scuba diving in its flooded lower levels, a genuinely distinctive feature of the county. Missouri Mines State Historic Site tells the Lead Belt story Missouri Mines State Historic Site preserves a former lead-mill complex and interprets the Old Lead Belt, anchoring the county's mining identity for visitors and new residents.
Browse 7 more practical notes
Home & Property
Money & Taxes
Local Government
Local notes
Worth knowing in St. Francois County
History, rivers, lakes, and quirks that give the county some shape.
Bismarck Conservation Area grew around a lead-mining reservoir Bismarck Conservation Area surrounds DiSalvo Lake, a 1944 reservoir built for nearby lead-mining operations, and now adds public land south of Bismarck. Knob Lick Towersite looks over St. Francois County's glade country Knob Lick Towersite south of Farmington keeps an old fire-tower view and a small granite glade on the St. Francois County map. Farmington's bikeway ties parks, downtown, and St. Joe access together Farmington's bikeway page lists spurs and loops that connect the Civic Center, Engler Park, downtown, and trailheads toward St. Joe State Park. Mineral Area College is a Park Hills education anchor Mineral Area College traces its district roots to St. Francois-area school districts and its main campus to Park Hills. Columbia Park is Park Hills' everyday recreation hub Park Hills describes Columbia Park as a city park with pavilions, playgrounds, an aquatic center, disc golf, an amphitheater, and a walking trail. County business in St. Francois runs through the commission St. Francois County says county business, including road operations, budgeting, security, and courthouse management, goes through the commission.
Browse 5 more stories and place notes
Official sources
Where to confirm it
A short set of official county and agency pages cited here. The other 31 source links stay with their individual notes.
Missouri Department of Conservation - Bismarck Conservation Area Missouri Department of Conservation - DiSalvo Lake Missouri Department of Conservation - Knob Lick Towersite Missouri Department of Conservation - Safeguarding Our Glades St. Francois County Clerk - Forms and Permits City of Farmington - Building Permits City of Farmington - Stanley M. Overall Bikeway Trail System City of Farmington - Business Permits and Licenses Mineral Area College - College Profile
Worth knowing nearby
Notes from the counties closest to St. Francois County
Source-checked notes from the nearest counties — the local layer often carries across the county line.
Arcadia Valley is a town cluster, not one municipality Iron County · Iron County's own overview describes Pilot Knob, Ironton, and Arcadia as communities within Arcadia Valley, with Ironton serving as county seat. Hickory Canyons keeps Ice Age plants in Ste. Genevieve County Ste. Genevieve County · Hickory Canyons Natural Area has sandstone box canyons, cool cliff faces, short trails, and glacial relict plants northeast of Farmington. Millstream Gardens carries the St. Francis River through Tiemann Shut-Ins Madison County · Millstream Gardens Conservation Area is a Madison County St. Francis River landscape with Tiemann Shut-Ins, natural-area river corridor, and public access west of Fredericktown. Washington County personal property starts with the Assessor's list Washington County · Washington County's assessor page explains that the office maintains taxable real and personal property and sends annual personal-property declaration forms. Jefferson County's assessment calendar comes before the bill Jefferson County · Jefferson County's assessor calendar shows the steps from January valuation to tax bills, which helps owners ask the right office at the right time. Perry County property research can start with the Assessor's records search Perry County · Perry County's assessor records page explains what can be copied, requested by phone, or researched in more detail through the assessor's site.
Nearby counties
Closest counties to St. Francois County
Nearby counties with their own local notes.
Iron County A small, scenery-rich county at the heart of the St. Francois Mountains, where ancient igneous rock surfaces as Missouri's highest ground (Taum Sauk Mountain), the granite domes of Elephant Rocks, and the river-carved Johnson's Shut-Ins. Ste. Genevieve County A Mississippi River county whose seat, Ste. Genevieve, holds one of the densest concentrations of French Colonial vertical-log architecture in North America, now anchored by a National Historical Park. Madison County A small Southeast Missouri county on the eastern edge of the St. Francois Mountains, with Fredericktown as its seat. Washington County Potosi is the seat of a county defined by one of Missouri's oldest mining districts: barite, locally called tiff, and early lead mining at Mine au Breton. Jefferson County A St. Louis exurban county with Mississippi and Meramec River edges, rural and suburban land, floodplain and septic questions, courthouse offices at Hillsboro, and no city earnings tax. Perry County A Mississippi River county whose seat, Perryville, sits in one of Missouri's densest karst landscapes, with extensive sinkholes and a long cave system that make groundwater and onsite-wastewater questions unusually central.
Reviewed June 18, 2026. These notes are a starting point — confirm exact parcel, license, tax, or permit details with the St. Francois County office that controls each record.
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