Founding year: the first Fairview post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1894.
History grade
What drives Fairview’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fairview is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #351 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fairview’s overall grade.
New Jersey towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Jersey town has 3.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Fairview’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1894 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (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.
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 borough located in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. According to the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 15,025, an increase of 1,190 (+8.6%) from the 2010 census count of 13,835, which in turn reflected an increase of 580 (+4.4%) from the 13,255 counted in the 2000 census. Fairview was formed on December 19, 1894, from portions of Ridgefield Township, based on the results of a referendum held the previous day. The borough was formed during the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County, in which 26 boroughs were formed in the county in 1894 alone. The borough is named for its view of the Hackensack River valley.
Its first post office opened in 1869. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 13,835 to 15,025 (+9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Fairview in 1900
Passages that mention Fairview, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Bergen county, New Jersey1900 · page 549Read the page →
Read the text
For some time previous to 1848, the people of English Neighborhood, (now Fairview ) under a council of ministers and delegates, organized an independent Baptist Church at this place, to be called the First Baptist Church at English Neighborhood. Among those at Fairview instrumental in securing this organization, was Mary Sedore, who is the only one of the nineteen persons of that number, now living.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Bergen county, New Jersey1900 · page 550Read the page →
Read the text
Upon the organization of the borough of Fairview Dr. Ayers was elected its first Mayor in 1894, re-elected in 1895 and re-elected again in 1897. His term expires in 1899. The doctor has been president of the Ridgefield Twonship Protective Association since 1882, and was appointed Special Police Justice by Governor Abbett during his presidency of the Protective Society. He is a member and ex-president of the
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.
The Fairview post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1894.
How does Fairview rank for history?
Fairview is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #351 of 468 in New Jersey. 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?
25% of Fairview’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1960.
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 Wikimedia Commons (12), U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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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