In 1867, the Jackson Iron Company had Fayette Brown build a charcoal iron smelter at Fayette, which grew up around the smelter and named after Brown. A Fayette post office opened on September 13, 1870 with Marvin H. Brown as postmaster. In 1891, the smelter was dismantled.
Fairport was founded in 1886 by fishermen who had relocated from St. Martin Island. The community was a commercial fishing port.
Fayette continued on as a small resort community until the mid-1950s, and then became a state park in 1959.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fairbanks Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1932Burnt Bluff SW sheet · 1:31,680
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.
On the National Register
3 listings protect 18 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
