The story
Read it all →How Fairfax came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Fairfax.
Fairfax was laid out in 1863 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named after Fairfax County, Virginia.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C−History
History · Fairfax
Fairfax’s post office opened in 1863
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #120 of 140 in Iowa. What drives it
Most of Fairfax was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1940.
1863first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
How Fairfax began, and where its name came from
When was Fairfax founded?
1863
The Fairfax post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Forfax (1854) and Vanderbilt (1862), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 262 in 19402020 census: 2,828163 years
How did Fairfax get its name?
Fairfax was named after Fairfax County, Virginia.
How historic is Fairfax?
C−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Fairfax post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fairfax’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fairfax is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #120 of 140 in Iowa. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fairfax’s overall grade.
Founding era1863, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.4% of homes (±6.0) · typical IA town 21.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IA town 9.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 24%
NewerOlder
Iowa towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 14%
Iowa towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Iowa town has 9.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Fairfax’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Fairfax’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Fairfax’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fairfax’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Fairfax on the map, 1888 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fairfax. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Amana sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fairfax.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and burying grounds
Fairfax’s post office has been open since 1863. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Forfax
Vanderbilt
Fairfax
18501940today
1cemetery inside Fairfax
Fairfax
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Fairfax, 1854 to 1888
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1854Post officeThe Forfax post office opens
- 1862Post officeThe Forfax post office closes
- 1862Post officeThe Vanderbilt post office opens
- 1863Post officeThe Vanderbilt post office closes
- 1863Post officeThe Fairfax post office opens
- 1879Born hereJohn Terry is born here
- 1888
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Fairfax, decade by decade
2021
2016
2016People over time
Fairfax, census by census
Grew from 262 people in 1940 to 2,828 in 2020, more than tenfold.
9 censuses, 1940–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fairfax’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Fairfax’s history
What year was Fairfax founded?
The Fairfax post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Fairfax rank for history?
Fairfax is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #120 of 140 in Iowa. 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.
How old are the homes in Fairfax?
8% of Fairfax’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 2004.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
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 (3), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.