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History · Fairview

Fairview was first counted by the census in 1860, and 75% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1960 on and the census since 1860.

1860first census
0on the National Register
75%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Fairview began

When was Fairview founded?

1860

Fairview first appears in the census in 1860. Another post office, Amos (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 69 in 18602020 census: 373166 years
Founding year: the first census.

What stands out about Fairview’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Fairview are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Fairview’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 836 in 1930; 373 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fairview’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Fairview, in brief

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

Fairview is a town in Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 374 at the 2020 census. The town took its name from the old Fairview Inn near the original town site.

Its first post office opened in 1860. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 408 to 373 (-9%).

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

People over time

Fairview, census by census

0200400600800190019502000Peak: 836

Peaked at 836 in 1930; 373 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Timeline

Fairview, 1886 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Amos post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911Post officeThe Amos post office closes
  5. 1911Post officeThe Fairview post office opens
  6. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 836
  7. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Fairview, decade by decade

Today1 recent
WVMap-doton-Fairview2004WVMap-doton-Fairview
On the map

Fairview on the map, 1960 to 1976

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

Fairview on the 1960 USGS mapFairview on the 1976 USGS map1960Grant Town sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fairview.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Fairview’s post office has been open since 1911. Another post office, Amos, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Amos
1886–1911
Fairview
1911–today
18801950today
1cemetery inside Fairview
Fairview

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

Questions about Fairview’s history

What year was Fairview founded?

The Fairview post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), 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.