All in a name
Updated: September 17, 2012
FARMER CITY -- This small town holds a pretty big title. It all started 175 years ago, when a group of settlers stopped in this field and named it Mt. Pleasant.
But it was the second Mt. Pleasant in the country. People in this town didn't want to be a duplicate, they wanted to stand out. In 1837, it got the name Farmer's City.
"It's made it a very important place," history buff Michael Hendricks said.
Locals call it the Agricultural Mecca of Central Illinois. Michael Hendricks has been teaching here for more than four decades.
"It's great where you can do something and I think make a difference in a community."
A community with a population just over 2,000, stands out worldwide.
"I had a student a few years ago from India send a letter. It just said, 'Farmer City.' Didn't say, USA or anything else. It got here six months later."
175 years later we stand on the historic soil of a town that hasn't changed.
"We're still agricultural-based, family-based, a farm economy is still very important."
But it was the second Mt. Pleasant in the country. People in this town didn't want to be a duplicate, they wanted to stand out. In 1837, it got the name Farmer's City.
"It's made it a very important place," history buff Michael Hendricks said.
Locals call it the Agricultural Mecca of Central Illinois. Michael Hendricks has been teaching here for more than four decades.
"It's great where you can do something and I think make a difference in a community."
A community with a population just over 2,000, stands out worldwide.
"I had a student a few years ago from India send a letter. It just said, 'Farmer City.' Didn't say, USA or anything else. It got here six months later."
175 years later we stand on the historic soil of a town that hasn't changed.
"We're still agricultural-based, family-based, a farm economy is still very important."
