FARMINGTON — The Washington Post has listed Farmington as the most “collegiest college town” in the state of Maine. The article, published on Feb. 3 by Andrew Van Dam, presents an overview of different college towns in the United States, and ranks them based on how much the school’s student body accounts for the town’s population.

Grace Maybury works on a sketch of a final project for a University of Maine at Farmington art class in downtown Farmington on April 24. Kay Neufeld/Franklin Journal file

In his article, Van Dam examines his criteria for what makes a college town the “collegiest”, stating that college towns feel different, and he presents the question of how to quantify the feeling of a college town.

“We’d argue it’s a matter of geography, not just a matter of student population,” he states. “The classic college town is built around the school at its heart. It respires with the rhythm of the students, inhaling nervously in the fall and exhaling as summer begins.”

“College towns aren’t suburbs or cities,” he continued. “They’re provincial, they’re probably a bit isolated, and if the college closes down, they have no plan B.”

In his article, he goes on to explain that in his criteria, a town’s population is linked directly to the college, meaning that without the college in that town, the population would, in theory, be reduced drastically.

The town that ranked first was Alfred, New York, where 85% of the town’s population of roughly 4,500 people are tied to Alfred State College and Alfred University.

“If you go left at the town’s only stop light, you’re on one campus. Turn right, you’re on the other,” Van Dam stated. “Now that’s a college town.”

UMF students shopping in downtown Farmington Submitted photo

The University of Maine at Farmington’s student population, according to the article, accounts for 35% of the town of Farmington.

“It’s an atmosphere of belonging,” Lisa Ellrich, assistant vice president for enrollment and director of admission, said in a press release. “People refer to ‘Farmington’ as both the town and the college all the time. For over 150 years the two have been knit together with a common purpose, to see each other be successful, and you can feel it.”

UMF’s history in Farmington goes all the way back to 1863 with its establishment as Maine’s first school for teacher education. Three commissioners, Philip Eastman, Henry Williamson, and Ephraim Flint were appointed to scout the location for the state’s first teacher education school.

According to the commissioner’s report, Farmington was chosen for a number of reasons, citing the Trustees of Farmington Academy pledged their existing building to house the school and also proposed to erect an additional building to be furnished with permanent seats, blackboards, a library, and other amenities.

Though the location was found in 1863, it wasn’t until 1864 that the school was established due to a lack of funds pledged by the state. The first classes of the Farmington State Normal School began in Beal’s Hall on Aug. 24, 1864.

Since then, the school has gone through several name changes, officially becoming the University of Maine at Farmington in 1971.

“Farmington is a small Maine town in the heart of the western Maine lake and mountain region that offers the best of both worlds,” Lee Nile, president of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, said in a press release. “It offers a beautiful natural setting where the college and local community are closely connected and can provide valuable opportunities for each other to thrive.”