Half of Fairview Heights’ homes were built after 1972
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #663 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Fairview Heights was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: maps from 1937 on and the census since 1970.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fairview Heights is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #663 of 768 in Illinois. 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 Fairview Heights’ overall grade.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Fairview Heights’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Fairview Heights’ 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
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
French Village
1841–1910
Ridge Prairie
1864–1901
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Capitol OaksCrossroadsFrench VillageFurmanPontiacUnion Hill
Gone or out of use
Gundlach MinesmineSaint Louis and O'Fallon Minemine
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fairview Heights
GreenwoodHoly CrossKampmeyerLake View Memorial GardensSaint AdalbertSaint Clair Memorial Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Fairview Heights, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Fairview Heights yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Fairview Heights is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States within Greater St. Louis. It is an eastern suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, Fairview Heights had a population of 16,706.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 17,078 to 16,706 (-2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Fairview Heights, 1841 to 1977
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fairview Heights. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1937OFallon sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fairview Heights.
People over time
Fairview Heights, census by census
Between 10,050 and 17,078 people in every census since 1970.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fairview Heights’ Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Fairview Heights is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #663 of 768 in Illinois. 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 Fairview Heights?
4% of Fairview Heights’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (11), 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.
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