Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1917 on, and the census since 1860.
Fairview dates its founding to 1859 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fairview is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
Utah towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Utah town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Fairview’s 37.3 sits above most of its state (81% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
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 →
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 Fairview’s history is told.
Peaked at 2,287 in 1920; 1,203 people lived here in 2020.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fairview’s Wikipedia page.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Fairview.
Located at the confluence of the San Pitch River and Cottonwood Creek, Fairview is the largest city in the northeast end of the Sanpete Valley. Founded in 1859, soon after the resettlement of nearby Mount Pleasant, Fairview was one of the first new towns established during the second wave of Mormon settlement in Sanpete County.
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.
BuiltNiels P. Hjort House is builtBuiltJames Anderson House is builtBuiltFairview Tithing Office/Bishop's Storehouse is built
Born herePete Carlston is born hereBuiltFairview City Hall is built
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveBeeline Service StationOne decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fairview. 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 Fairview.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.
1917Sheet 2 of 4Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
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 · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
In 1859, according to Wikidata. Fairview’s post office opened in 1864, and the census of 1860 counted 297 people here.
Fairview is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns. 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.
5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the James Anderson House (listed 1980, the first).
32% of Fairview’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.0 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (7), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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