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B+History
History · Fairfield

Fairfield’s post office opened in 1803, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the East Fairfield Covered Bridge. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1920 on, and the census since 1790.

1803first post office
1on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
17old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fairfield’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fairfield began

When was Fairfield founded?

1803

The Fairfield post office opened in 1803, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Herrick (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 129 in 17902020 census: 2,044223 years

How historic is Fairfield?

B+

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Fairfield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Fairfield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fairfield is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fairfield’s overall grade.
Founding era1803, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194022.6% of homes (±4.7) · typical VT town 22.4% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 5.2 per 10,000 residents · typical VT town 147 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 68%
NewerOlder

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 Fairfield’s 5.2 sits below most of its state (13% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Fairfield’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos17 old photos, postcards and papers, 1910–1941.On the map since 19204 editions of the USGS map, 1920 to 1986. Watch Fairfield change.Old burying grounds14 cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fairfield.Deep rootsA post office since 1803: 223 years of Fairfield.
★ What stands out · By decade

Fairfield, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1940s17 items
East Fairfield station 1910 postcardc. 1910East Fairfield station 1910 postcardPostcardMrs. Gaynor doing her ironing on their farm1941Mrs. Gaynor doing her ironing on their farmCow chewing corn on a farm near Fairfield, Vermont1941Cow chewing corn on a farm near Fairfield, VermontCow chewing corn on a farm near Fairfield, Vermont1941Cow chewing corn on a farm near Fairfield, VermontHorses drinking water on the Gaynor farm near Fairfield, Vermont1941Horses drinking water on the Gaynor farm near Fairfie…Mrs. Gaynor doing her ironing on their farm. Fairfield, Vermont1941Mrs. Gaynor doing her ironing on their farm. Fairfiel…Mr. Gaynor cutting corn on his farm near Fairfield, Vermont1941Mr. Gaynor cutting corn on his farm near Fairfield, V…Mrs. Gaynor washing dishes on their farm near Fairfield, Vermont1941Mrs. Gaynor washing dishes on their farm near Fairfie…The Gaynor family at dinner on their farm. Fairfield, Vermont1941The Gaynor family at dinner on their farm. Fairfield,…Dicky Gaynor feeding the chickens on their farm near Fairfield, Vermont1941Dicky Gaynor feeding the chickens on their farm near …William Gaynor, FSA (Farm Security Administration) dairy farmer near Fairfield, Vermont1941William Gaynor, FSA (Farm Security Administration) da…Mrs. W. Gaynor canning tomatoes on their farm near Fairfield, Vermont1941Mrs. W. Gaynor canning tomatoes on their farm near Fa…In the milk house on the Gaynor farm near Fairfield, Vermont1941In the milk house on the Gaynor farm near Fairfield, …Three of the Gaynor children on their farm near Fairfield, Vermont1941Three of the Gaynor children on their farm near Fairf…Dicky Gaynor washing his hands on their farm near Fairfield, Vermont1941Dicky Gaynor washing his hands on their farm near Fai…William Gaynor, FSA (Farm Security Administration) dairy farmer near Fairfield, Vermont1941William Gaynor, FSA (Farm Security Administration) da…Mrs. W. Gaynor preparing dinner on their farm near Fairfield, Vermont1941Mrs. W. Gaynor preparing dinner on their farm near Fa…
1950s–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
On the map

Fairfield on the map, 1920 to 1986

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

Fairfield on the 1920 USGS mapFairfield on the 1944 USGS mapFairfield on the 1953 USGS mapFairfield on the 1986 USGS map1920Franklin Pond 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 Fairfield.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Fairfield’s post office has been open since 1803. Another post office, Herrick, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fairfield
1803–today
East Fairfield
1836–today
Herrick
1899–1902
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East FairfieldSaint Rocks
Gone or out of use
Buckley SchoolschoolGould SchoolschoolLost Nation SchoolschoolMcCarty Schoolschool
14cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fairfield
BarlowBradleyDiamondFairviewKirleyLeachMoreyNorth Fairfield - HerrickPondPumpkin VillageSaint PatricksSaint RocksWaiteWest Fairfield

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

The story so far

Fairfield, in brief

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

Fairfield is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States, chartered in 1763. The population was 2,044 at the 2020 census. President Chester A. Arthur was born in Fairfield in 1829, and lived there for the first three years of his life. A replica of his home, the Chester Alan Arthur State Historic Site, is open seasonally.

Its first post office opened in 1803. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,891 to 2,044 (+8%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Fairfield in 1901

Passages that mention Fairfield, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Hempstead, it will be seen that Joseph returned to Stamford during the latter part of the year 1658, or the early part of 1659, otherwise his expenses would probably have been paid from Hempstead to Fairfield, instead of Stamford to Fairfield ; moreover we find in the court records of the New Haven…
History and genealogy of the Mead family of Fairfield county, Connecticut, eastern New York, western Vermont, and western Pennsylvania from A.D. 1180 to 19001901 · page 12Read the page →
Read the text

Hempstead, it will be seen that Joseph returned to Stamford during the latter part of the year 1658, or the early part of 1659, otherwise his expenses would probably have been paid from Hempstead to Fairfield, instead of Stamford to Fairfield ; moreover we find in the court records of the New Haven Colony : 1659, May 25. Joseph Mead, of Stamford, a witness.

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

Fairfield, 1803 to 1941

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1803Post officeThe Fairfield post office opens
  3. 1814Born hereBradley Barlow is born here
  4. 1829Born hereChester A. Arthur is born here
  5. 1836Post officeThe East Fairfield post office opens
  6. 1851Born hereGeorge Burton Adams is born here
  7. 1865BuiltEast Fairfield Covered Bridge is built
  8. 1899Born hereConsuelo N. Bailey is born here
  9. 1899Post officeThe Herrick post office opens
  10. 20th century
  11. 1902Post officeThe Herrick post office closes
  12. 1910In the archiveEast Fairfield station 1910 postcard
  13. 1920On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1941In the archiveMrs. Gaynor doing her ironing on their farm
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.

East Fairfield station 1910 postcard
Retake this viewEast Fairfield station 1910 postcard, c. 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Fairfield

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
East Fairfield Covered Bridge
East Fairfield Covered Bridge, built 1865
Structures
East Fairfield Covered BridgeBuilt 1865

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Fairfield, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018001850190019502000Peak: 2,591

Between 129 and 2,591 people in every census since 1790.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Fairfield

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Chester A. ArthurPresident of the United States from 1881 to 1885 · b. 1829
Consuelo N. BaileyAmerican lawyer and politician · b. 1899
Bradley BarlowAmerican politician · b. 1814
George Burton AdamsAmerican historian · b. 1851
J
Jeptha BradleyAmerican politician · b. 1802
Elijah B. ShermanAmerican lawyer · b. 1832
Help out

Finish Fairfield’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewEast Fairfield station 1910 postcard: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bakersfield2 historic placesA−Fletcher1 historic placeB+Sheldon3 historic placesA−Swanton6 historic placesB+St. Albans1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFairfax1 historic placeBEnosburgh10 historic placesA

Questions about Fairfield’s history

What year was Fairfield founded?

The Fairfield post office opened in 1803, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Fairfield rank for history?

Fairfield is more historic than 68% 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 Fairfield?

One place: the East Fairfield Covered Bridge (listed 1974).

How old are the homes in Fairfield?

23% of Fairfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1984.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (15), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 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.