Farrington, Washington — Farm Country Beyond the Tri-Cities

Farrington lies outside the Tri-Cities in the broad agricultural landscape of Franklin County.

The contrast with nearby Pasco is striking. Urban streets can give way quickly to irrigation works, farm roads and fields stretching across ground that receives nowhere near enough natural rainfall to explain the crops growing on it.

That landscape is a product of water engineering. Irrigation expanded agriculture across the Columbia Basin and distributed homes and farm operations far beyond incorporated towns.

Farrington remained one of those rural names rather than becoming a municipality. Its surroundings are organized less by blocks than by canals, acreage and the practical routes between farms.

Pasco may dominate the regional map, but it does not tell the whole story of where people in Franklin County actually live.