The story
Read it all →How Fairview Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Fairview Township.
Fairview Township was organized in 1873, and named for the scenic landscapes of the township.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Fairview Township
33% of Fairview Township’s homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1953 on.
0on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
What stands out about Fairview Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Fairview Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fairview Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Fairview Township, 1889 to 1964
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1889Post officeThe Green Valley post office opens
- 20th century
- 1953
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1964Post officeThe Green Valley post office closes
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.
Add from your albumOn the map
Fairview Township on the map, 1953 to 1967
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fairview Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1953New Ulm sheet · 1:250,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fairview Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Fairview Township
Nobody well known was born in Fairview Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Green Valley, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Green Valley
Gone or out of use
Green Valley Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Fairview Township
Saint Clotilde
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.
Marshall4 historic placesB−Grandview TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStanley TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townVallers TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLynd Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Fairview Township’s history
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From 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.