Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1916 on, and the census since 1890.
The Fairfax post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fairfax’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Fairfax.
Fairfax was platted in April 1881 and was incorporated on November 9, 1881. A post office has been in operation at Fairfax since 1881.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Fairfax, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Dr. Hunter's residence in Fairfax is a ten-room house of 1% stories and is quite at¬ tractive, as is evidenced by the accompanying view. Also owns a hotel building in Fairfax, of two stories and 36x52 feet in size; also owns two tenant houses in Fairfax. The busi¬ ness room in which the drug store is conducted is 23x50 feet in size.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
he accepted the position of book-keeper in the Bank of Atchison County, at Rock' Port* Mo., which position he held until Aug. 1, 1895, when he was elected to the position of Cashier of the Farmers Bank of Fairfax, at Fairfax, Mo., which position he was holding at the time of taking this sketch, with credit to himself as a business man and to the ada antage of the banking corporation. Mr. Daulton also engaged at farming several years and shortly before this sketch was taken had sold 280 acres of farm land. Although a young man he is a business and financial success, and Wholly so by his own efforts and ability.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fairfax. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fairfax.
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 sheet.
1916Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Fairfax’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 329 and 852 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fairfax’s Wikipedia page.
The Fairfax post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (1), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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