Best Web Design in Farmington, NM (2026)

Web Design for Farmington, New Mexico

Farmington sits in high desert at the confluence of the San Juan, Animas, and La Plata rivers in northwestern New Mexico, the largest city and commercial hub of the sprawling Four Corners region. Once a green apple-growing valley, it exploded on oil, gas, and coal in the mid-20th century and now serves as the retail center for a trade area of roughly 300,000 people. Bordered by the Navajo Nation, its Navajo name Tota' means "among the waters."

AppWT works with Farmington, NM businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Farmington

Also known as. Tota' / Totah (Navajo for "among the waters" / where three rivers meet). The Hub (of San Juan County and the Four Corners). Baseball Town, U.S.A. Junction City (original settlement name).

History. The area opened to settlement after the Jicarilla Apache declined the land; early settlers arrived from southern Colorado in the late 1870s-1880s. Originally called Junction City for its three-river confluence, the town was incorporated in 1901 with a population of 548. A railroad linking Farmington to Durango, Colorado was completed September 19, 1905, expanding trade and settlement. Mid-20th-century oil and gas booms swelled the city; population rose roughly 763% over one decade in the 1950s, making it the state's chief oil and gas producing area. On March 18, 1950, a mass UFO sighting was reported in which more than half the town claimed to see 'saucers' in the sky. In 1967, Project Gasbuggy, an underground nuclear detonation to stimulate natural gas, was carried out about 50 miles east under the federal Operation Plowshare program.

Local economy. Historically driven by petroleum, natural gas, and coal production; long the chief oil and gas producing area in New Mexico. The nearby Navajo Mine supplies coal to the Four Corners Generating Station. Serves as the retail and commercial hub of the Four Corners, drawing from a trade radius of about 150 miles and a population base above 300,000. Early-1900s economy centered on apple orchards, with roughly 53,000 apple trees reported in the San Juan valley. Tourism and outdoor recreation (fishing, golf, archaeology) are a growing diversification of the economy.

Culture and community. Hosts the Connie Mack World Series each summer since 1965, a national amateur baseball tournament for players ages 16-18 at Ricketts Park, earning the 'Baseball Town, U.S.A.' identity. Riverfest is a free annual festival on the banks of the Animas River with live music, food and beer/wine gardens, a car show, a 10K, a duck race, and a wiener dog race. Deeply shaped by Four Corners Indigenous cultures including Dine (Navajo), Ute, Paiute, Hopi, Zuni, and Pueblo peoples. Chevel Shepherd, winner of the 15th season of NBC's The Voice, is from Farmington.

What makes Farmington distinct. Its Navajo name Tota' ('among the waters') reflects the meeting of three rivers; early Anglo settlers called it Junction City for the same reason. Site of one of the most famous mass UFO sightings in U.S. history when much of the town reported flying 'saucers' in March 1950. Ground zero region for Cold War 'peaceful nuclear explosions': the 1967 Project Gasbuggy nuke was detonated to try to free natural gas. Admission to Aztec Ruins National Monument is free, a rarity for a World Heritage Site.

Farmington Landmarks and Local Life

• Ricketts Park - the award-winning ballpark that anchors the Connie Mack World Series
• Pinon Hills Golf Course - repeatedly ranked among the top municipal golf courses in the United States
• The San Juan River below Navajo Dam - a nationally known blue-ribbon trout fishery, plus Navajo Lake
• Aztec Ruins National Monument nearby - a UNESCO World Heritage Site (since 1987) preserving Ancestral Puebloan great-house architecture
• Salmon Ruins - another major Ancestral Puebloan site, and the Trails of the Ancients Scenic Byway
• Shiprock (Tse Bit'a'i) - the iconic volcanic monadnock sacred to the Navajo, rises to the southwest