Fairburn’s post office opened in 1846, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #100 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
Most of Fairburn was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 17 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1860.
The Fairburn post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1870. Another post office, Barryville (1834), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 298 in 18602020 census: 16,483180 years
How did Fairburn get its name?
The community is named after Fairburn, in England.
How historic is Fairburn?
B−
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fairburn is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #100 of 263 in Georgia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fairburn’s overall grade.
Georgia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Georgia town has 10.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Fairburn’s 10.7 sits near the middle of its state (55% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 18 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1870.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Fairburn’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Fairburn’s post office has been open since 1846. Another post office, Barryville, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Barryville
1834–1846
Fairburn
1846–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
FiresideRosegate ManorShannon Chase
Gone or out of use
Campbell County Courthousebuilding
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fairburn
Holly Hills Memorial ParkStephens
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Fairburn, building by building, 1892–1921
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1892Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Fairburn is located along a railroad line and was the county seat of Campbell County starting in 1871. It was chosen as county seat in a referendum in 1871 that was spurred by the original seat of Campbellton refusing to allow the Atlanta and West Point Railroad line through on account of the anticipated noise in the 1850s. The railroad instead passed through Fairburn. Campbellton then faded away as Fairburn grew. The government of Campbell County went bankrupt in 1931 during the Great Depression and, along with Milton County to the north, was absorbed into Fulton County when 1932 began. Fairburn's population was 305 in 1870, with 208 white and 97 black residents.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Fairburn post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1870.
How does Fairburn rank for history?
Fairburn is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #100 of 263 in Georgia. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Fairburn?
Two places: the Campbell County Courthouse (listed 1976) and the Fairburn Commercial Historic District (1988).
How old are the homes in Fairburn?
1% of Fairburn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 2004.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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