Fair Haven dates to 1779, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 95% of U.S. towns · #25 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 42 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1797.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fair Haven’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fair Haven is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #25 of 71 in Vermont. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fair Haven’s overall grade.
Vermont towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Vermont town has 147 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Fair Haven’s 162 sits above most of its state (66% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 44 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.1 points). Two sources give 1779.
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 →
What stands out about Fair Haven’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fair Haven. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Whitehall 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 Fair Haven.
Every building
Fair Haven, building by building, 1885–1922
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 year, then a sheet.
Fair Haven was chartered on October 27, 1779, to Ebenezer Allen and 76 associates, and first settled the same year. The township originally included West Haven, which was set off on October 20, 1792. The post office at Fair Haven was established in 1797. In 1783, Colonel Matthew Lyon moved to Fair Haven and began building mills at the falls on the Castleton River. His enterprises included a gristmill, sawmill and papermill, in addition to a forge, as well as a newspaper, the Fair Haven Gazette. This began Fair Haven's legacy as a small, prosperous mill town, which by 1859 included a marble mill, rolling mill, nail factory, papermill producing wallpaper, three sawmills, a wagon shop, a machine shop, two blacksmith shops, and two shoe shops.
The two towns had but one representative and held their freeman's meetings together untd Mar., 3, ly23, when it was "Resolved, that the town of Fair Haven is bv the constitution and Laws of the State of Vermont, entitled to a representative in tiie General Assembly of tiie State, in its own right, distinct from any other town, and that the first con-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The village of Fair Haven was first laid out and established Dec. 21, 1820, under a general law of the State, by Isaac Cutler, John P. Colburn aud Harvey Church, selectmen of the iowa at the time.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Fair Haven, 1779 to 1941
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1779, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Fair Haven’s post office opened in 1797, and the first U.S. census counted 545 people here in 1790.
How does Fair Haven rank for history?
Fair Haven is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #25 of 71 in Vermont. 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 Fair Haven?
Two places: the Fair Haven Green Historic District (listed 1980) and the Asahel Kidder House (1997).
How old are the homes in Fair Haven?
53% of Fair Haven’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.1 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (21), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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