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History · Fairfax Township

21% of Fairfax Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1919 on.

0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Fairfax 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 Fairfax Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19193 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1984. Watch Fairfax Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fairfax Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Fairfax Township on the map, 1919 to 1984

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

Fairfax Township on the 1919 USGS mapFairfax Township on the 1964 USGS mapFairfax Township on the 1984 USGS map1919Beltrami 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 Fairfax Township.

The story so far

Fairfax Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Fairfax Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Fairfax Township is a township in Polk County, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the Grand Forks-ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 213 at the 2000 census. Fairfax Township was organized in 1879.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 198 to 160 (-19%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Fairfax Township, 1899 to 1919

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899Post officeThe Burwell post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907Post officeThe Burwell post office closes
  5. 1919On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Fairfax Township

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

See all →
Joseph H. BallAmerican politician · b. 1905
J
John NoahAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1927
Jane Elizabeth HodgsonPhysician, obstetrician, gynecologist · b. 1915
Milton Orville ThompsonAmerican aviator · b. 1926
Harold HagenAmerican politician · b. 1901
T
Tim BerglandAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1965
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, Burwell, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
BurwellHarold
Gone or out of use
Burwell Post Officepost office

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.

Andover TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKertsonville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCrookston4 historic placesA−Crookston TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRussia TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Fairfax Township’s history

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 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.