As the shire town for Franklin County, Farmington has been a center for the courts, commerce, and education, with its branch of the University of Maine.
In 1886 a devastating fire swept through the center of the community, destroying business buildings, churches, and homes.
These substantial brick commercial blocks at the corner of Main Street and Broadway were erected in the Italianate, Romanesque Revival, and Queen Anne styles during the period immediately following the fire and have remained part of Farmington’s historic downtown to this day.
