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AHistory
History · Fairfield

Fairfield’s post office opened in 1807, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns · #37 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

9 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 36 buildings. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1790.

1807first post office
9on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fairfield’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fairfield began

When was Fairfield founded?

1807

The Fairfield post office opened in 1807, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Kendall's Mills (1830), North Fairfield (1838) and Larone (1851), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 458 in 17902020 census: 6,484219 years

How historic is Fairfield?

A

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Fairfield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Fairfield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fairfield is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #37 of 143 in Maine. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fairfield’s overall grade.
Founding era1807, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194024.5% of homes (±5.9) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register9 listings, 46 historic buildings, 70.6 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 91%
NewerOlder
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 75%

Maine towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Maine town has 15.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Fairfield’s 70.6 sits above most of its state (81% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 46 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 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 Fairfield’s past

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

Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Fairfield, and 9 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1982. Watch Fairfield change.A historic districtThe Hinckley Good Will Home Historic District takes in 36 historic buildings.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1911, drew every building in Fairfield.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Fairfield’s post office has been open since 1807. Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fairfield
1807–today
Kendall's Mills
1830–1872
North Fairfield
1838–1909
Larone
1851–1927
Somerset Mills
1853–1889
Fairfield Center
1872–1935
Shawmut
1889–today
Hinckley
1904–today
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Fairfield CenterHinckleyHolway CornerHoxiesLaroneNorth FairfieldNyes CornerShawmutToulouse Corner
Gone or out of use
Fairfield Post Officepost officeHapworths Landing Areaairport
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fairfield
CovellEllisEmery HillFriendMaplewoodNyes CornerTozier

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

On the map

Fairfield on the map, 1892 to 1982

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 1892 USGS mapFairfield on the 1943 USGS mapFairfield on the 1957 USGS mapFairfield on the 1982 USGS map1892Waterville sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fairfield.

On the National Register

9 listings protect 46 historic buildings

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

places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
46
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Connor-Bovie House
Connor-Bovie HouseLawrence LibraryQuincy BuildingAmos Gerald HouseHinckley Good Will Home Historic DistrictCotton-Smith HouseBates, Asa, Memorial ChapelGerald HotelYoung Surgical Building-Central Maine Sanatorium
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
Romanesque Revival2
Queen Anne2
Medieval Revival1
Renaissance Style1
Romanesque Style1
Connor-Bovie HouseGreek Revival
Lawrence LibraryRomanesque Revival
Quincy BuildingRomanesque Revival
Amos Gerald HouseMedieval Revival
Hinckley Good Will Home Historic DistrictRenaissance Style
Cotton-Smith HouseQueen Anne
Bates, Asa, Memorial ChapelLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
Gerald HotelBuilding
All 9 listings
Young Surgical Building-Central Maine SanatoriumBuilding · listed 2021

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

The story

How Fairfield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fairfield.

Read it all →

The area was territory of the Canibas tribe of Abenaki Indians residing at Taconnet village, once located downriver at the confluence of the Sebasticook and Kennebec rivers in what is today Winslow. In 1692 during King William's War, the village was burned, so the Canibas tribe abandoned the area. The French and Indian Wars finally ended in 1763, leaving the region open for English colonization. Fairfield Plantation, named for its fair aspect, was first settled in 1774.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Fairfield, 1807 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1807Post officeThe Fairfield post office opens
  3. 1830Post officeThe Kendall's Mills post office opens
  4. 1838Post officeThe North Fairfield post office opens
  5. 1839Born hereSeldon Connor is born here
  6. 1844Born hereCharles A. Coffin is born here
  7. 1868Born hereFrank Bunker Gilbreth is born here
  8. 1869In the archiveDam at Fairfield, Me
  9. 1872Post officeThe Kendall's Mills post office closes
  10. 1875Born hereSterling Fessenden is born here
  11. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 20th century
  13. 1909Post officeThe North Fairfield post office closes
  14. 1910In the archiveMain Street, Looking North
  15. 1930In the archiveUnited Carpet Stores -- Post Road, Westport -- 3 miles from Fairfield Center. Headquarter…
By decade

Fairfield, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s6 items
Dam at Fairfield, Mec. 1869Dam at Fairfield, MeDam at Fairfield, Mec. 1869Dam at Fairfield, MeFaifield Boom.Alternate Title: Kennebec Valley Viewsc. 1869Faifield Boom.Alternate Title: Kennebec Valley ViewsFaifield Boom.Alternate Title: Kennebec Valley Viewsc. 1869Faifield Boom.Alternate Title: Kennebec Valley ViewsR.R. Bridge, Fairfield, Mec. 1869R.R. Bridge, Fairfield, MeR.R. Bridge, Fairfield, Mec. 1869R.R. Bridge, Fairfield, Me
1910s5 items
Main Street, Looking North1910Main Street, Looking NorthPostcardHume & Newhalls1910Hume & NewhallsHume & Newhalls1910Hume & NewhallsHume & Newhalls1910Hume & NewhallsCenter of Rapid Transit1916Center of Rapid TransitPostcard
1930s1 item
United Carpet Stores -- Post Road, Westport -- 3 miles from Fairfield Center. Headquarters for better carpeting at far …c. 1930United Carpet Stores -- Post Road, Westport -- 3 mile…Postcard
1940s–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
Today12 recent
Lawerence Public Library2024Lawerence Public LibraryChurch-Converted-Residence in2024Church-Converted-Residence inWatervilleME YoungSurgicalBuildingRenovations2022WatervilleME YoungSurgicalBuildingRenovationsFairfieldME PostOffice2022FairfieldME PostOfficeFairfieldME LawrenceLibrary2022FairfieldME LawrenceLibraryFairfieldME GeraldHotel2022FairfieldME GeraldHotelFairfieldME CottonSmithHouse2022FairfieldME CottonSmithHouseFairfieldME ConnorBovieHouse2022FairfieldME ConnorBovieHouseFairfieldME AsaBatesMemorialChapel2022FairfieldME AsaBatesMemorialChapelFairfieldME AmosGeraldHouse2022FairfieldME AmosGeraldHouseUntitled photo2011Untitled photoLawrence High School Maine2003Lawrence High School Maine
Every building

Fairfield, building by building, 1884–1911

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.

Fairfield fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 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.

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.

Dam at Fairfield, Me
Retake this viewDam at Fairfield, Me, c. 1869

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
People over time

Fairfield, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,50018001850190019502000Peak: 6,735

Between 458 and 6,735 people in every census since 1790.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Fairfield

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Frank Bunker GilbrethAmerican industrial engineer · b. 1868
Seldon ConnorUnion United States Army general · b. 1839
Charles A. CoffinAmerican businessman · b. 1844
Sterling FessendenAmerican lawyer · b. 1875
Angier Louis GoodwinAmerican politician · b. 1881
Bill RollinsonAmerican baseball player · b. 1856
Help out

Finish Fairfield’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDam at Fairfield, Me: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Benton2 historic placesBClinton1 historic placeBSmithfield1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorridgewock7 historic placesA−Skowhegan13 historic placesA+

Questions about Fairfield’s history

What year was Fairfield founded?

The Fairfield post office opened in 1807, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Fairfield rank for history?

Fairfield is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #37 of 143 in Maine. 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 Fairfield?

9 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Connor-Bovie House (listed 1974, the first), and 1 historic district, the Hinckley Good Will Home Historic District, with 36 contributing buildings. 46 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Fairfield?

25% of Fairfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1975.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (21), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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.