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History · Fairfield

Fairfield’s post office opened in 1818, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 10 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1953 on, and the census since 1870.

1818first post office
1on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fairfield’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fairfield began

When was Fairfield founded?

1818

The Fairfield post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 167 in 18702020 census: 118208 years
Founding year: the first Fairfield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Fairfield’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 329 in 1920; 118 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1818: 208 years of Fairfield.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fairfield’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Fairfield, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 329

Peaked at 329 in 1920; 118 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fairfield’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Fairfield, 1818 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1818Post officeThe Fairfield post office opens
  3. 1880In the archive1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky (KY) - Nelson County - Fairfield - ED 90…
  4. 20th century
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 329
  6. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Fairfield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fairfield.

Read it all →

Originally known as Turkey Town, Fairfield was established by the state assembly in 1818 and incorporated as a city in 1870.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Fairfield, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky (KY) - Nelson County - Fairfield - ED 90-2518801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky (KY)…
1890s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Fairfield-post-office-ky2017Fairfield-post-office-kyFairfield-businesses-ky2017Fairfield-businesses-kyFairfield-KY48-ky2017Fairfield-KY48-kyFairfield-City-Hall-ky2017Fairfield-City-Hall-kyKYMap-doton-Fairfield2004KYMap-doton-Fairfield
On the map

Fairfield on the map, 1953 to 1981

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

Fairfield on the 1953 USGS mapFairfield on the 1981 USGS map1953Fairfield 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 Fairfield.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky (KY) - Nelson County - Fairfield - ED 90-25
Retake this view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky (KY) - Nelson County - Fairfield - ED 90-25, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Fairfield’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 10 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
10
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
Isaac Miller Farm
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Central-passage-plan dwelling1
double-crib barn1
All 1 listings
Isaac Miller FarmDistrict · listed 1994

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Questions about Fairfield’s history

What year was Fairfield founded?

The Fairfield post office opened in 1818, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Fairfield?

One place: the Isaac Miller Farm (listed 1994).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.