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A+History
History · Fairlee

Fairlee dates to 1761, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 56 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1931 on, and the census since 1790.

1761founded
4on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fairlee’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fairlee began

When was Fairlee founded?

1761

Fairlee dates its founding to 1761 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 463 in 17902020 census: 988265 years

How historic is Fairlee?

A+

More historic than 98% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1808.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Fairlee’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fairlee is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs put Fairlee near the top nationally; its age ranks highest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fairlee’s overall grade.
Founding era1761, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194031.7% of homes (±11.6) · typical VT town 22.4% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register4 listings, 59 historic buildings, 553 per 10,000 residents · typical VT town 147 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 98%
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 Fairlee’s 553 sits above most of its state (88% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 59 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% 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 (±11.6 points). Two sources give 1761.

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 Fairlee’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1820 and 1890, then more than doubled.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Fairlee, and 1 old place names are still on the map.A historic districtThe Lanakila Camp takes in 31 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fairlee’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fairlee’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewConnecticut Valley at Fairlee, VT and O…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Fairlee, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200180018501900195020001,143 in 1820Low: 398

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1820 and 1890, then more than doubled.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Fairlee’s post office has been open since 1808. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fairlee
1808–today
Ely
1871–1887
South Fairlee
1872–1927
Ely
1927–1994
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Ely
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fairlee
BrushwoodEly - South FairleeFairlee VillageWhiting Family

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

The story

How Fairlee came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fairlee.

Read it all →

One of the New Hampshire grants, Fairlee was chartered by Governor Benning Wentworth on September 9, 1761, and awarded to Josiah Channey, Joseph Hubbard and 62 others. It was first settled in 1766. On February 25, 1797, the western half of the grant was set off as West Fairlee.

The population was 575 by 1859, when it had several sawmills, a gristmill, and an establishment for lead pipe and pumps.

The Fairlee Railroad Depot was built in 1848 by the Connecticut & Passumpsic Rivers Railroad. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, it is the oldest surviving railroad structure along the Connecticut River.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Fairlee, 1761 to 1931

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1761
    FoundingFairlee is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1808Post officeThe Fairlee post office opens
  5. 1809Born hereGeorge W. Morrison is born here
  6. 1820CensusPopulation peaks at 1,143
  7. 1839Born hereWilliam H. Gilmore is born here
  8. 1871Post officeThe Ely post office opens
  9. 1872Post officeThe South Fairlee post office opens
  10. 1887Post officeThe Ely post office closes
  11. 20th century
  12. 1907In the archiveConnecticut Valley at Fairlee, VT and Orford, NH
  13. 1927Post officeThe South Fairlee post office closes
  14. 1931On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Fairlee, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Connecticut Valley at Fairlee, VT and Orford, NHc. 1907Connecticut Valley at Fairlee, VT and Orford, NH
1910s–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
Today17 recent
Fairlee VT 10-27-25b2025Fairlee VT 10-27-25bFairlee VT 10-27-25a2025Fairlee VT 10-27-25aEly, VT Boston and Maine Depot2025Ely, VT Boston and Maine DepotFairleeVT TownHall2015FairleeVT TownHallFairleeVT LanakilaCamp 22015FairleeVT LanakilaCamp 2FairleeVT LanakilaCamp 12015FairleeVT LanakilaCamp 1FairleeVT ElyDepot2015FairleeVT ElyDepotFairleeVT Depot2015FairleeVT DepotFairleeVT AlohaCamp2015FairleeVT AlohaCampFairleeVT AlohaCamp 22015FairleeVT AlohaCamp 2House in2011House inFairlee, Vermont2011Fairlee, VermontLake Morey2009Lake MoreyFairlee Town Beach2009Fairlee Town BeachRare Bird and Animal Farm, U. S. Route 52007Rare Bird and Animal Farm, U. S. Route 5Rare Bird and Animal Farm, U. S. Route 52007Rare Bird and Animal Farm, U. S. Route 5Fairlee vt highlight2004Fairlee vt highlight
On the map

Fairlee on the map, 1931 to 1981

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

Fairlee on the 1931 USGS mapFairlee on the 1981 USGS map1931Mt Cube 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 Fairlee.

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.

Connecticut Valley at Fairlee, VT and Orford, NH
Retake this viewConnecticut Valley at Fairlee, VT and Orford, NH, c. 1907

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 listings protect 59 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
59
each building in a district counts
first listed
1998
Fairlee Railroad Depot
Fairlee Railroad DepotLanakila CampFairlee Town HallAloha Camp
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Adirondack Rustic2
Mid-19th Century1
Queen Anne1
Hawaiian Cottage1
Bungalow1
Fairlee Railroad DepotBuilding
Lanakila CampMid-19th Century
Fairlee Town HallBuilding
All 4 listings
Aloha CampDistrict · listed 2003

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Fairlee

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

See all →
George W. MorrisonAmerican politician · b. 1809
William H. GilmoreAmerican militia general · b. 1839
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

West Fairlee5 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBradford3 historic placesA+

Questions about Fairlee’s history

What year was Fairlee founded?

In 1761, according to Wikidata. Fairlee’s post office opened in 1808, and the first U.S. census counted 463 people here in 1790.

How does Fairlee rank for history?

Fairlee is more historic than 98% 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 Fairlee?

4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Fairlee Railroad Depot (listed 1998, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Lanakila Camp and the Aloha Camp, with 56 contributing buildings. 59 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Fairlee?

32% of Fairlee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.6 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1972.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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) 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.