Its Register listing is the St. Albans Hospital. Most of Fairlawn was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1950 on.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fairlawn is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fairlawn’s overall grade.
Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Virginia town has 3.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Fairlawn’s 8.0 sits near the middle of its state (52% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Fairlawn’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 Fairlawn yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Fairlawn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pulaski County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,419 at the 2020 census up from 2,367 at the 2010 census. It is served by the Radford, Virginia post office and is located on the opposite side of the New River from Radford. Fairlawn is part of the Blacksburg–Christiansburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. Fairlawn is home to IHRA sanctioned Pulaski County Motorsports Park, formerly known as Motor Mile Speedway.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,367 to 2,419 (+2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
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.
Fairlawn is more historic than 29% 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.
What is on the National Register in Fairlawn?
One place: the St. Albans Hospital (listed 2020).
How old are the homes in Fairlawn?
2% of Fairlawn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
