Fairbanks is a community along U.S. Highway 290 and the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

in Western

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. At one point it was a distinct

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

within Harris County.

History

The community, named after its founder, John Joseph Fairbanks, was founded in July, 1895. In 1895 Fairbanks received its first post office. In 1914 Fairbanks had 75 residents, a general store and saloon, and a grocery store. The community had 25 people in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1942 the community had 800 residents and 35 businesses in the area. In the 1950s the population decreased to 350 people. Houston annexed Fairbanks in 1956. The community began to expand around that period; in the 1960s the Fairbanks area and some surrounding communities had 1,050 residents and 45 businesses. In 1980 and 1990 1,050 people lived in Fairbanks, while more people lived in the surrounding area.

Government and infrastructure

Local government

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. The Council has sixteen members: eleven from council districts and five elected at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, wi ...

District A serves Fairbanks. As of 2020 the district is represented by Amy Peck. The Fairbanks area is served by the

Houston Police Department The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary municipal law enforcement agency serving the city of Houston, Texas, United States, and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fi ...

Northwest Patrol Division, headquartered at 6000 Teague Road. VOLUNTEER INITIATIVES PROGRAM - Citizens Offering Police Support
" ''City of Houston''.

County, state, and federal representation

Fairbanks is within Harris County Precinct 4. As of 2008 Jerry Eversole heads the precinct. Fairbanks is located in District 135 of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

. As of 2019, Jon Rosenthal represents the district. Fairbanks is within

District 7 District 7 could refer to: *District 7, Ho Chi Minh City District 7 () is an Districts of Vietnam, urban district of Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam. As of 2024, the district had a population of 456,789 and an area of 36 km². ...

of the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...

; as of 2015

Paul Bettencourt Paul David Bettencourt (born October 20, 1958) is an American politician and businessman based out of Houston, Texas, who serves as a Republican member of the Texas State Senate from District 7. On January 13, 2015, he succeeded state Senator Da ...

represents the district. Fairbanks is in

Texas's 7th congressional district Texas's 7th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives comprises a small area of southwestern Houston and Harris County, along with a northern portion of suburban Fort Bend County. As of the 2000 census, the 7th dist ...

. As of 2019,

Lizzie Fletcher Elizabeth Ann Fletcher (née Pannill; born February 13, 1975) is an American attorney and politician from Texas. A Democrat, she has represented in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. The district, which was once represented b ...

represents the district. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

operates the Fairbanks Post Office at 7050 Brookhollow West Drive in an unincorporated area.

Education

Fairbanks is within the

Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District The Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD, often referred to as Cy-Fair) is an independent school district with its headquarters in Cypress, Texas, United States. Cy-Fair ISD is the largest Recognized school district in the st ...

. Until the 1930s the Fairbanks School District operated (present day) Bane Elementary and the Fairbanks High School (Later called Carverdale High School). Until the 1960s, Carverdale High School, under Cy-Fair I.S.D., operated as the African-American School during segregation in the American South. The Carverdale High School in later years was used by the Houston Community College System as its Carverdale Campus.

Lone Star College Lone Star College (LSC) is a public community college system serving the northern portions of the Greater Houston, Texas, area. In 2017, it enrolled about 95,000 students. The headquarters of the Lone Star College System are located in The Woo ...

(originally the North Harris Montgomery Community College District) serves the community. The territory in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD joined the community college district in 2000. The system operates the Fairbanks Center in unincorporated Harris County; Fairbanks Center is a part of

Lone Star College–CyFair Lone Star College–CyFair, formerly Cy-Fair College, is one of six colleges in the Lone Star College System located in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States. Vision As more and more of Texas' natural environment is developed by ...

Harris County Public Library Harris County Public Library (HCPL) is a public library system serving Harris County, Texas, United States. Since its inception in 1921, HCPL has grown from a system of small book stations in homes, stores and post offices to 26 branch libr ...

operates the Fairbanks Branch Library at 7122 North Gessner Drive in an unincorporated area. The branch opened in 1970. Originally at , it received an expansion in 1990, making it .Fairbanks Branch Library
." ''

''. Retrieved on November 27, 2008.

Cypress Ridge High School Cypress Ridge High School is a public secondary school located in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, near Houston. It was established in 2002 as Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District High School #7. Cypress Ridge provides the deaf ed ...

is a high school located at 7900 North Eldridge Parkway. The school opened in 2002 and currently holds 3000+ students.

References

External links

* {{coord, 29.8527, N, 95.5266, W, source:wikidata, display=title Neighborhoods in Houston Geography of Harris County, Texas