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History · Fairbanks Township

Fairbanks Township dates to 1840

Most of Fairbanks Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: maps from 1942 on.

1840founded
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Fairbanks Township began

When was Fairbanks Township founded?

1840

Fairbanks Township dates its founding to 1840 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1842.

2020 census: 721186 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1842.The full story ↓

What stands out about Fairbanks Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Fairbanks Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1840: 186 years of Fairbanks Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fairbanks Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fairbanks Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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Timeline

Fairbanks Township, 1840 to 1942

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1840
    FoundingFairbanks Township is established
  3. 1842Post officeThe Fairbanks post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Fairbanks Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fairbanks Township.

Read it all →

Fairbanks was named after Sgt. Nathan Fairbanks, who was killed in September 1812 when his platoon of 12 soldiers was ambushed by a group of Indians just outside the town. The village of Fairbanks was laid out in 1840 by Benjamin Ernest, James Pogue, and Samuel Myers. On this tract of 20 acres, Pogue had killed a bear which was the last one that had been reported in the area for many years. The first child born in Fairbanks Township was Joel Harris on 17 January 1818, the son of Benjamin and Mary (Paddock) Harris. The first school house was built outside the village in 1823. Students would travel 6 or 7 miles to attend. Professor Ed Liston was the Principal of the school in 1884. The population that year (1884) was 135. The post office at Fairbanks has been in operation since 1878.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Fairbanks Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Fairbanks, Indiana2016Fairbanks, Indiana
On the map

Fairbanks Township on the map, 1942 to 1966

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fairbanks Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Fairbanks Township on the 1942 USGS mapFairbanks Township on the 1952 USGS mapFairbanks Township on the 1966 USGS map1942Fairbanks 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 Fairbanks Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to Fairbanks Township

Nobody well known was born in Fairbanks Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
William Harrison HaysAmerican politician · b. 1879
W
Walter BullockAmerican screenwriter and lyricist · b. 1907
D. Bailey MerrillAmerican politician · b. 1912
Dick Thompson MorganAmerican politician · b. 1853
Frank AydelotteAmerican scholar · b. 1880
R
Robert CoulsonAmerican writer · b. 1928
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
FairbanksRiverviewScott City
Gone or out of use
Roll-N-Ridge Airportairport
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fairbanks Township
ChowningDeBaunPleasant GreenPogueRiggs - Ernest

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Turman TownshipIts storyC+Prairie Creek Township1 historic placeB+Curry Township1 historic placeB

Questions about Fairbanks Township’s history

What year was Fairbanks Township founded?

In 1840, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Fairbanks Township’s post office opened in 1842.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.