St. Francois County, Missouri

Saint Francois County
County
St. Francois County Courthouse in Farmington
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Missouri
Missouri's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°46′55″N 90°25′20″W / 37.781944444444°N 90.422222222222°W / 37.781944444444; -90.422222222222
Country	United States
State	Missouri
Founded	December 19, 1821
Named for	St. Francis River
Seat	Farmington
Largest city	Farmington
Area
• Total	455 sq mi (1,180 km2)
• Land	452 sq mi (1,170 km2)
• Water	2.8 sq mi (7 km2)  0.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	66,922
• Density	150/sq mi (57/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	8th
Website	www.sfcgov.org

St. Francois County (/ˈfrænsɪs/) is a county in the Lead Belt region in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 census, the population was 66,922.^[1] The largest city and county seat is Farmington.^[2] The county was officially organized on December 19, 1821. It was named after the St. Francis River. The origin of the river's name is unclear. It may refer to St. Francis of Assisi.^[3] Another possibility is that Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit who explored the region in 1673, named the river for the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier; Marquette had spent some time at the mission of St. François Xavier before his voyage and, as a Jesuit, was unlikely to have given the river a name honoring the Franciscans.^[4]

St. Francois County comprises the Farmington Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the St. Louis–St. Charles–Farmington–Illinois Combined Statistical Area.