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History · Fairfield

Fairfield’s post office opened in 1873, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Fairfield Carnegie Library. Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1900.

1873first post office
1on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Fairfield began

When was Fairfield founded?

1873

The Fairfield post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, White Elm (1872), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 1,203 in 19002020 census: 330153 years
Founding year: the first Fairfield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Fairfield’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 Fairfield are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1985. Watch Fairfield change.Old housesHalf of Fairfield’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fairfield’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fairfield’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

Fairfield on the map, 1898 to 1985

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

Fairfield on the 1898 USGS mapFairfield on the 1969 USGS mapFairfield on the 1985 USGS map1898Superior sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Fairfield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fairfield.

Read it all →

Fairfield got its start in 1872 with the construction of the railroad through the territory.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Fairfield, 1872 to 1913

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe White Elm post office opens
  3. 1873Post officeThe White Elm post office closes
  4. 1873Post officeThe Fairfield post office opens
  5. 1881Born hereSamuel Roy McKelvie is born here
  6. 1890Born hereCliff Titus is born here
  7. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 20th century
  9. 1913BuiltFairfield Carnegie Library is built
By decade

Fairfield, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Fairfield, Nebraska D Street 32010Fairfield, Nebraska D Street 3Fairfield, Nebraska D Street 22010Fairfield, Nebraska D Street 2Fairfield, Nebraska D Street 12010Fairfield, Nebraska D Street 1Fairfield, Nebraska 5 x D SW2010Fairfield, Nebraska 5 x D SWFairfield, Nebraska 5 x D SW condemned sign2010Fairfield, Nebraska 5 x D SW condemned signFairfield Nebraska2009Fairfield NebraskaNEMap-doton-Fairfield2005NEMap-doton-Fairfield
On the National Register

1 historic place in Fairfield

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2001
Fairfield Carnegie Library
Fairfield Carnegie Library, built 1913
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Prairie Vernacular1
Fairfield Carnegie LibraryPrairie Vernacular · Built 1913

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Fairfield, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,203

Between 330 and 1,203 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Fairfield

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Samuel Roy McKelvieAmerican politician · b. 1881
C
Cliff TitusAmerican politician in Missouri · b. 1890
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Fairfield’s post office has been open since 1873. Another post office, White Elm, opened and closed inside today’s town.

White Elm
1872–1873
Fairfield
1873–today
18701950today

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

Questions about Fairfield’s history

What year was Fairfield founded?

The Fairfield post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Fairfield?

One place: the Fairfield Carnegie Library (listed 2001).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (7), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (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) 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.