Many towns, one county: sorting St. Francois County's incorporated places

St. Francois County contains several incorporated cities — Farmington, Park Hills, Bonne Terre, Desloge, Leadwood, Leadington, and Bismarck among them — alongside unincorporated communities. Park Hills itself was formed from the consolidation of the old mining towns of Flat River, Esther, Elvins, and Rivermine, which is why older references and the new name can both turn up. Which jurisdiction you are in matters: city limits set your municipal services, ordinances, and which local government answers to you, and they sit on top of county-wide and special-district layers like school, fire, and ambulance districts. Before assuming a ‘Park Hills’ or ‘Farmington’ address tells the whole story, confirm the actual city limits and district boundaries. Census and state boundary data, plus the county and city portals, are the authoritative way to sort this out.