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Southeast Missouri / Lead Belt / Mississippi Corridor

Farmington: county seat and regional hub of the Lead Belt

Farmington is the county seat and the largest service center, so it is where the courthouse and most county offices sit — the practical starting point for county business.

Farmington is the seat of St. Francois County and its main regional hub, distinct from the cluster of former mining towns — Park Hills, Bonne Terre, Desloge, Leadwood — that grew up around the Lead Belt to the north and east. As the seat, Farmington is where the county courthouse and most county offices are based, which makes it the practical destination for assessment, tax, recorder, and other county business. That seat-versus-mining-town split is worth understanding: the mining communities are tied to the lead industry’s geography, while the seat reflects the county’s older governmental center. For official details on county offices, hours, and locations, use the St. Francois County government portal rather than assuming an office is in the town nearest you.

References

Where this fits: this note belongs to St. Francois County. See every local note for the county on its page.

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Many towns, one county: sorting St. Francois County's incorporated places St. Francois County packs several incorporated cities plus unincorporated communities, and which one you live in determines your city services, ordinances, and overlapping districts. 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. 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. 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.

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