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History · East Fairfield Township

15% of East Fairfield Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1923 on, and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

Where East Fairfield Township’s name came from

How did East Fairfield Township get its name?

East Fairfield Township was named in honor of William Crawford who was a defender of the white settlers from the attacks if Indians.

Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

What stands out about East Fairfield Township’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 East Fairfield Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19234 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 1973. Watch East Fairfield Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start East Fairfield Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how East Fairfield Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

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

Pettis
1869–1902
Shaws
1892–1900
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Shaws Corners
1cemetery inside East Fairfield Township
Saint Peter and Paul Roman Catholic

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

On the map

East Fairfield Township on the map, 1923 to 1973

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

East Fairfield Township on the 1923 USGS mapEast Fairfield Township on the 1943 USGS mapEast Fairfield Township on the 1967 USGS mapEast Fairfield Township on the 1973 USGS map1923Meadville sheet · 1:62,500

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

The story so far

East Fairfield Township, in brief

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

East Fairfield Township is a township in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was formed from Fairfield Township in 1869. The population was 836 at the 2020 census. It was named in honor of William Crawford who was a defender of the white settlers from the attacks if Indians.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 922 to 837 (-9%).

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

Timeline

East Fairfield Township, 1869 to 1923

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Post officeThe Pettis post office opens
  3. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Crawford County - East Fairfield -…
  4. 1892Post officeThe Shaws post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900Post officeThe Shaws post office closes
  7. 1902Post officeThe Pettis post office closes
  8. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

East Fairfield Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Crawford County - East Fairfield - ED 20-1318801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania …
1890s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
US 322 wb in East Fairfield Twp., Crawford Co., PA, June 20242024US 322 wb in East Fairfield Twp., Crawford Co., PA, J…Old Route 322 eb entering Cochranton, PA, June 20242024Old Route 322 eb entering Cochranton, PA, June 2024French Creek upstream from Shaws Landing, June 20242024French Creek upstream from Shaws Landing, June 2024
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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Crawford County - East Fairfield - ED 20-13
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Crawford County - East Fairfield - ED 20-13, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

East Fairfield Township, census by census

02004006008001,00020002020Peak: 922

Between 836 and 922 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to East Fairfield Township

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

See all →
Sharon StoneAmerican actress · b. 1958
Charles Homer HaskinsAmerican historian · b. 1870
Andrew Ryan McGillAmerican politician · b. 1840
Frederic C. HoweAmerican social reformer, author, lawyer · b. 1867
T
Thomas A. OsbornAmerican politician · b. 1836
Arnold PlumerAmerican politician · b. 1801
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Fairfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUnion Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWayne TownshipIts storyC+CochrantonIts storyB+West Mead TownshipIts storyB−East Mead TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about East Fairfield Township’s history

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 (4), 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.