The story
Read it all →How Fort Fairfield came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Fort Fairfield.
Fort Fairfield is named for John Fairfield, 13th and 16th governor of Maine.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Fort Fairfield
Fort Fairfield’s post office opened in 1843, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #68 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1840.
1843first post office
4on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
4famous people
Quick answers
How Fort Fairfield began
When was Fort Fairfield founded?
1843
The Fort Fairfield post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Maple Grove (1849) and Goodrich (1901), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 26 in 18402020 census: 3,322183 years
How historic is Fort Fairfield?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Fort Fairfield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fort Fairfield’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fort Fairfield is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #68 of 143 in Maine. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fort Fairfield’s overall grade.
Founding era1843, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194025.8% of homes (±8.4) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register4 listings, 12.1 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%
NewerOlder
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 53%
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 Fort Fairfield’s 12.1 sits near the middle of its state (47% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.4 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 Fort Fairfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Fort Fairfield, and 7 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 5,876 in 1960; 3,322 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1919, drew every building in Fort Fairfield.Deep rootsA post office since 1843: 183 years of Fort Fairfield.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Fort Fairfield’s post office has been open since 1843. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Fort Fairfield
Maple Grove
Goodrich
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
FairmountGoodrichGoodwinHoughtonvilleMaple GroveMcSheaStevensville
Gone or out of use
Murphy Road Airstripairport
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fort Fairfield
Haines Maple GroveHarvey HillHoughtonKnightOld CatholicRiversideSaint Denis CatholicWalton
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
People over time
Fort Fairfield, census by census
Peaked at 5,876 in 1960; 3,322 people lived here in 2020.
18 censuses, 1840–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fort Fairfield’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Fort Fairfield, building by building, 1893–1919
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.
1893Sheet 1 of 3Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Fort Fairfield, 1843 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1843Post officeThe Fort Fairfield post office opens
- 1849Post officeThe Maple Grove post office opens
- 1866
Born hereChandler C. Harvey is born here - 1870
In the archiveSt. Paul's Church & Rectory, Fort Fairfield, Aroostock Co., Maine - 1887
In the archiveColby's atlas of the state of Maine - including statistics and descriptions of its histor… - 20th century
- 1901Post officeThe Goodrich post office opens
- 1910
In the archiveReedHouseFortFairfieldME - 1914Post officeThe Goodrich post office closes
- 1921
Born hereJohn H. Reed is born here - 1932
Born hereDick Curless is born here - 1933
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1934Post officeThe Maple Grove post office closes
- 1951
Born hereTim Sample is born here - 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 5,876
By decade
Fort Fairfield, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1870s–1910s5 items
c. 1870
19161920s–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 albumDate unknown2 to date
Date?
Date?
2018
2008
2007
2007
2002On the map
Fort Fairfield on the map, 1933 to 1984
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fort Fairfield. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1933Fort Fairfield 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 Fort 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.
Retake this viewSt. Paul's Church & Rectory, Fort Fairfield, Aroostock Co., Maine, c. 1870
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Fort Fairfield’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
4 historic places in Fort Fairfield
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1986
Philo Reed House
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Queen Anne1
Classical Revival1
Late Victorian1
Philo Reed HouseQueen Anne
Fort Fairfield Public LibraryClassical Revival
U.S. Inspection Station-Fort Fairfield, MaineBuilding
All 4 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →4 famous people were born in Fort Fairfield
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Help out
Finish Fort 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
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Fort Fairfield’s history
What year was Fort Fairfield founded?
The Fort Fairfield post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Fort Fairfield rank for history?
Fort Fairfield is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #68 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 Fort Fairfield?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Philo Reed House (listed 1986, the first).
How old are the homes in Fort Fairfield?
26% of Fort Fairfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.4 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (12), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.