Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 14% of U.S. towns · #947 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Most of Fairlawn was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1970.
The Fairlawn post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1960.
More historic than 14% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fairlawn is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #947 of 993 in Ohio. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Fairlawn’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
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 Fairlawn’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fairlawn. 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 Fairlawn.
From Wikipedia’s history of Fairlawn.
Fairlawn was incorporated as Fairlawn Village in 1960. It became a city when its population reached 6,200 in the 1970 census.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 SurveyBetween 5,779 and 7,710 people in every census since 1970.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fairlawn’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Fairlawn itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Fairlawn had its own post office from 1891 to 1942.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Fairlawn post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1960.
Fairlawn is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #947 of 993 in Ohio. 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.
0.7% of Fairlawn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1973.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, 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.
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