The community was platted on the northeast bank of the Des Moines River in 1839. By the late 1850s, Farmington had begun to emerge as a manufacturing center because of its location on the river and the existence of nearby coal deposits; later it was a railroad center. The Lewis Berg Wagon Works ( SO069) is also located there.
Just southwest of the city limits of Farmington, off of Iowa 81, is Indian Lake Park. Within the park are several examples of rustic wood-and-stone park architecture. One of these structures is an enclosed picnic shelter constructed of native limestone with a shingle roof. Wood rafter tails project beyond the roof edges, on the gable ends and out from the eaves. Each gabled end of the building contains a large segmental arched window. Two large stone chimneys service the pair of stone fireplaces.
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