1 of Fairfield’s places is on the National Register
Its Register listing is the Paxton House. Most of Fairfield was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: old-book passages.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Fairfield yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Fairfield is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Rockbridge County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 257. The CDP is in the northeastern part of the county, along U.S. Route 11 (North Lee Highway), which leads northeast 12 miles (19 km) to Greenville and southwest 11 miles (18 km) to Lexington. Interstate 81/64 forms the northwestern edge of the community, with access from Exit 200 (Sterrett Road). The Interstate highway runs parallel to US 11 and leads northeast 23 miles (37 km) to Staunton and southwest 8 miles (13 km) to where the highways split near Lexington.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Fairfield, 1915–1920
Passages that mention Fairfield, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Newton genealogy, genealogical, biographical, historical1915 · page 737Read the page →
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John Green testified November 28. 1(172, "that about the first settling of the town of Fairfield, Thomas Staples, Thomas Newton, Edward Jessop, and Edmund Strickland, having home-lots in y'^ rear of y" lots that M' Ludlow's lot lay in." The Town Book of Deeds would indicate that Thomas Newton was one of the four men who came with Ludlow to Fairfield in the autumn of 1639.
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Newton genealogy, genealogical, biographical, historical1915 · page 758Read the page →
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of .Tacob F. Lehman, b. April (i, 1872. Mr. and Mrs. Newton reside (1914) at Naperville, 111. Mr. Newton compiled, and in 1911 published, an exceedingly intere-sting history of "The Colchester, Conn.. Newton Family, Descendants of Thomas Newton of Fairfield. Conn.. 1039." and their settlement in New York State as contained in old family letters and many other document.s. It was a reverent thing to do, and is well done. His family will ever be grateful that they have so intimate a knowledge of their forebeai-s. We all regret that we know so little of the daily life of our
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A history of Rockbridge County, Virginia [electronic resource]1920 · page 106Read the page →
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The polling places in 1830 were four: Joseph Bell's at Goshen, H. R. Jones' at Brownsburg, the tavern at Natural Bridge, and the house of one of the numerous Monres. Four years later, the tavern of John McCorkIc became a voting place, and in 1845 the tavern of John Albright at Fairfield. Outside of the county seat and the few vill.igcs, Rockbridge had in 1835 three furnaces, six forges, ten stores, and iwenty-four gristmills. 'H iluthirteen country churches, nine were Presbyterian.
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
