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D−History
History · Fairview

Fairview dates to 2001

More historic than 3% of U.S. towns · #260 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it

Most of Fairview was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1990.

2001founded
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fairview’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fairview began

When was Fairview founded?

2001

Fairview dates its founding to 2001 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1990.

First census: 1,830 in 19902020 census: 3,45625 years

How historic is Fairview?

D−

More historic than 3% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1821.
History grade

What drives Fairview’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fairview is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #260 of 290 in North Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fairview’s overall grade.
Founding era2001, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19401.9% of homes (±1.7) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NC town 12.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 3%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 10%

North Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical North Carolina town has 12.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Fairview’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 2001.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Fairview’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Fairview, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fairview’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSherrill's Inn, Lake Lure, U.S. Route 74: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Coburn's Store
1821–1907
Brief
1892–1905
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Brief
Gone or out of use
Rockhill SchoolschoolRockhill Schoolschool
10cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fairview
Austin FamilyBentons CrossroadsBethlehem Presbyterian ChurchBiggersCrooked Creek ChurchEmmanuelHopewell ChurchUnionUnion Grove ChurchZion Church

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Fairview, in brief

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

Fairview is a town in Union County, North Carolina, United States. The town incorporated in 2001. The population was 3,463 at the 2020 census. Fairview has one elementary school, one service station, a volunteer fire department, a small chain dollar store, and a community park.

Fairview was established in 2001. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,324 to 3,456 (+4%).

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

Timeline

Fairview, 1821 to 2001

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1821Post officeThe Coburn's Store post office opens
  3. 1892Post officeThe Brief post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1905Post officeThe Brief post office closes
  6. 1907Post officeThe Coburn's Store post office closes
  7. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 21st century
  9. 2001
    FoundingFairview is established
By decade

Fairview, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Sherrill's Inn, Lake Lure, U.S. Route 74Date?Sherrill's Inn, Lake Lure, U.S. Route 74
On the map

Fairview on the map, 1949 to 1993

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

Fairview on the 1949 USGS mapFairview on the 1971 USGS mapFairview on the 1980 USGS mapFairview on the 1993 USGS map1949Midland sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fairview.

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.

Sherrill's Inn, Lake Lure, U.S. Route 74
Retake this viewSherrill's Inn, Lake Lure, U.S. Route 74

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Fairview’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Fairview, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50020002020Peak: 3,463

Between 1,830 and 3,463 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fairview’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Fairview

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

See all →
James K. PolkPresident of the United States from 1845 to 1849 · b. 1795
Billy GrahamAmerican Baptist evangelist · b. 1918
Chyler LeighAmerican actress, singer and model · b. 1982
C
Charles DukeAmerican engineer, U.S. Air Force officer, test… · b. 1935
Britt RobertsonAmerican actress · b. 1990
Cody RhodesAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1985
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Indian TrailIts storyDUnionvilleIts storyD

Questions about Fairview’s history

What year was Fairview founded?

In 2001, according to Wikidata. Fairview’s post office opened in 1821, and the census of 1990 counted 1,830 people here.

How does Fairview rank for history?

Fairview is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #260 of 290 in North Carolina. 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.

How old are the homes in Fairview?

2% of Fairview’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1987.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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 the Library of Congress (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.