As part of the requirements for entering Canada, we needed a negative COVID-19 test, current within 72 hours. We planned on using the new border crossing at Calais ME (pronounced “callous”) but learned all the local and nearby pharmacy appointments were booked. The pharmacy closest to Calais with available appointments was in Farmington ME. So instead of camping in Calais and driving 3 and 1/2 hours one-way for our tests, we reserved a campsite in Palmyra ME just an hour away. We drove to Farmington the next morning and completed our tests early at the Walgreens located on the way into town. With the entire day ahead of us, we decided to discover what Farmington was all about.
Farmington is a small town of less than 8,000 residents and the home of the University of Maine at Farmington, a liberal arts college with an enrollment of just under 2,500. We strolled around part of the campus and shopped in The University Store. Most campus buildings used the red brick exterior like Merrill Hall below, while others were converted town residences and even a church.
We saw signs for a walking tour, but used Sid to move us from spot to spot. We stopped at the North Church, Meetinghouse Park, the Downtown, and The Depot (old railroad station).
The North Church may have been historic, but it closed for services in 1930. The meetinghouse after which the park was named, was built in 1802 but was destroyed long ago. Since then, the meetinghouse common area was everything from a trash dump to a baseball field. On the promise that the common would be improved and turned into a park, a wealthy sawmill owner donated the Civil War Memorial in 1903. The monument mirrors the one erected at Gettysburg to memorialize all Maine soldiers killed in that war. The sacrifices made by Farmington men was engraved on the obelisk: 305 killed or died of wounds, 35 died of disease, and 25 were missing in action. Wow! That was 23% of the city’s 1860 male population.
We took pictures of several other interesting buildings as we took a walking tour of our own. As usual, we were interested in architecture, unique design features, and interesting scenes.
Before leaving town we enjoyed a late lunch at Java Joe’s Corner Cafe. We shared one of their specialty sandwiches and each savored an Americano with added whipped cream. Delicious! What would small town America be without great food and good coffee?
