Its Register listings are the David S. Creigh House, the Tuscawilla and the Meadow River Lumber Building. Its Register listings are the David S. Creigh House, the Tuscawilla and the Meadow River Lumber Building.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fairlea is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fairlea’s overall grade.
West Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical West Virginia town has 29.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Fairlea’s 30.5 sits near the middle of its state (64% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±10.1 points).
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 Fairlea’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cedar Knoll Trailer ParkFair Oaks Trailer ParkFuller Trailer ParkTeaberry
Gone or out of use
Livesay Schoolschool
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Fairlea, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Fairlea yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Fairlea is a census-designated place (CDP) in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,720 at the 2020 census (slightly down from 1,747 at the 2010 census). Fairlea is the location of the annual West Virginia State Fair, held in August.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,747 in 2010, 1,720 in 2020.
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.
Fairlea 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 Fairlea?
Three places: the David S. Creigh House (listed 1975), the Tuscawilla (1979) and the Meadow River Lumber Building (1997).
How old are the homes in Fairlea?
13% of Fairlea’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.1 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (3) 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.
