Downtown Farmington. This view looks west on
Grand River Avenue towards the intersection of Grand River and Farmington Road. Farmington's
Civic Theater can be seen on the right-hand side of the street, near the intersection. The street shown was resurfaced in 2006, after the date of the photo.
Farmington is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit and is part of the Metro Detroit area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,423. It is fully surrounded by Farmington Hills except for a small portion bordered by Livonia to the south.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.7 square miles (6.9 km²), all land.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 10,423 people, 4,825 households, and 2,764 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,904.4 per square mile (1,507.2/km²). There were 4,991 housing units at an average density of 1,869.6/sq mi (721.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.67% White, 2.73% African American, 0.18% Native American, 10.08% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.20% of the population. There were 4,825 households out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% were non-families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $56,442, and the median income for a family was $75,578. Males had a median income of $54,780 versus $39,435 for females. The per capita income for the city was $32,452. About 1.5% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Farmington utilizes the council-manager form of government, and thus is governed by a city council consisting of a mayor and four council members. The city council appoints a city manager, who manages the day-to-day operations of the city.
Farmington is surrounded by Farmington Hills, Michigan. The cities combine to form a district represented in Michigan's State government by Democrat Aldo Vagnozzi, who is a former mayor of Farmington Hills. Farmington is part of State Senate District 14, currently (2006) represented by Democrat Gilda Z. Jacobs.
The Mayor of Farmington is Tom Buck. Buck was elected to this position in November 2009.
On Monday, December 18, 2006, a public meeting was held in Farmington Hills to review a sustainability study, which was undertaken by this neighboring city. One of several recommendations of the study was to investigate the possibility of merging with the City of Farmington. This has been an ongoing discussion for years but public awareness was heightened during this session. Farmington and Farmington Hills already share several services, such as a library and a district court.
Education
Farmington is served by the Farmington Public Schools, which also serve Farmington Hills, as well as local parochial and private schools in the area.
Media
In addition to the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, regional newspapers serving all of southeast Michigan, the city is served by two community newspapers. The Farmington Observer is published twice a week, on Sunday and Thursday. The Farmington Gazette is published weekly. The Oakland Press covers all of Oakland County.
Shopping
Located within the City of Farmington is a number of neighborhood and regional shopping centers, and a traditional village downtown to serve residents and the surrounding population.
Downtown Farmington – Downtown Farmington has over 160 businesses that include both large national retailers and small boutiques. The Farmington Civic Theatre still shows movies. In 2005, the Downtown Center experienced a significant change with many merchants being forced to close. This was due to congestion and inconvenience experienced during the construction of the Sundquist Pavilion and Riley Park. The Sundquist Pavilion and Riley Park host the Saturday Farmers Market, Friday Summer Concert Series, and numerous other activities. National retailers in Downtown Farmington include ACE Hardware, Dress Barn, Starbucks, Quizno’s, Merle Norman, and TJ Maxx. Local restaurants include Luigi’s Tratoria, Page’s Restaurant, Gala Restaurant, Dagwood’s Deli, Cedars Restaurant, and Big Apple Bagel.
Farmington Plaza – Located at the corner of Grand River and Mooney, ACO Hardware and Big Lots are the anchor tenants for the Farmington Plaza. Other retail and commercial tenants include Framery One, Domino’s Pizza, the Zap Zone and The Crossing Church.
The Winery Building - Located on the south side of Grand River just west of Orchard Lake Road, houses most notably the "Haunted Winery" during the Halloween Season. Community Living Centers which raises funds for the independent living of disabled adults is located in the northeast corner of the building.
Drakeshire Plaza – The Drakeshire Plaza is located on Grand River, just east of Drake Road. In June 2007, the Drakeshire Plaza was approved by the City of Farmington for a substantial redevelopment of the center. The primary tenant will be Walgreen’s Pharmacy. Existing retail and restaurant tenants in the center include: Joe’s Hobbies, Subway, Plato’s Coney Island Restaurant, Little Caesar’s Pizza, and Suraj Indian Grocery.
Halsted Grand Shopping Center – K-Mart is the anchor tenant in the Halsted Grand Shopping Center which is named after to the two crossroads. Other commercial and restaurant tenants include: The Tile Shop, Diamond Boutique, Lin’s Kitchen, Yesterday’s Coney Island, and Gift of India Grocery. K-Mart is slated for closure, along 3 others in the Detroit area, after 35 years of operation in Farmington.
Orchard Ten Plaza – This shopping center is located at the southwest corner of Orchard Lake and Ten Mile roads. This neighborhood center has the following retail and restaurant establishments: Mrs. Maddox’s Cake Shop, Ramario’s Coney Island, Orchard Ten Foods, and a number of salons and boutiques.
World Wide Center – This neighborhood center has a number of small ethnic businesses which include: House of Lee Chinese Restaurant, NAM STE Indian Grocery, Bangkok Kitchen Thai Restaurant, and China Merchandise. Other Retail businesses include: Capitol Cigar, Harvey Electronics, and Tweeny’s Deli. The center is located at the southwest corner of Grand River and Whitaker.
History
Farmington was founded in 1824 by Arthur Power. Like many Oakland County pioneers, he hailed from the state of New York. Power was a Quaker, as were the settlers who joined him, and the town was first known as Quakertown. In 1826, the name Farmington was officially chosen because it was the name of Power's hometown: Farmington, New York.
The name Farmington, which properly refers to the 2.7-square-mile (7.0 km2) municipality incorporated in the early 19th Century, is sometimes erroneously used to refer to the 33.3-square-mile (86 km2) neighboring city of Farmington Hills (Farmington Township until 1973), which surrounds it.
In 1976, the National Register of Historic Places declared part of the city the Farmington Historic District.
Notable natives
Rex Cawley and Mickey Harris have been residents of the city. NHL goaltender Brent Johnson of the Washington Capitals is from Farmington.
In 2007 CNNMoney.com listed Farmington as number 55 in their Best Places to Live survey. [1]
External links
References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ USGS GNIS: Farmington, Michigan
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