Fairbury is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Jefferson County, Nebraska Jefferson County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 7,240. Its county seat is Fairbury. The county was named for Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States of America. ...

, United States. The population was 3,942 at the 2010 census. Fairbury has been closely connected with railroading for much of its history. It was founded on the projected route of a railway, and grew as a shipping center. For nearly 80 years, it was the location of the Western Division headquarters of the

Rock Island Railroad The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At ...

. Fairbury prospered with the Rock Island, and lost business and residents as the railroad declined.

History

19th century

In 1868, James B. Mattingly, a freighter originally from Kentucky, established a sawmill on the banks of the Little Blue River. Shortly thereafter, Woodford G. McDowell, a capitalist from Fairbury, Illinois, came to Nebraska to plat a town along the route of the St. Joseph and Denver City Railroad, which was to follow the Little Blue. In 1869, Mattingly and McDowell each contributed for a new townsite, which they named after McDowell's hometown. The new town grew rapidly, even before the railroad's arrival. In 1870, a population of 370 was reported; in that year, the ''Fairbury Gazette'' was established. A year later, Fairbury was chosen as the county seat; in early 1872, the city was incorporated. By this time, its businesses included three hotels and five blacksmith shops. In 1872, the St. Joseph and Denver City reached Jefferson County. (The railroad was subsequently acquired by the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

and operated as the St. Joseph and Grand Island branch.) Fairbury became a shipping center: in the first half of 1873, it shipped 255 cars of grain and received 143 of lumber. By 1874, there were 600 residents; 44 businesses operated in the city. An 1879 fire, "supposed to have been the work of an incendiary", destroyed an estimated fourteen buildings, for a loss of $50,000, much of it uninsured. However, recovery was swift, and many of the destroyed frame buildings were replaced by more modern brick and stone structures. By 1882, the city's population had grown to 1,600. In 1885, the Campbell Brothers Circus began wintering in Fairbury. It continued to winter in and around the city until its closing in 1913. At its peak, the circus was the second-largest in the world. In 1886, the

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At ...

reached Fairbury. The city lay at the junction of the Rock Island's north-south and east-west lines; because of this, it was designated the headquarters of the railroad's Western Division. An extensive rail yard was constructed, including shops, storage and maintenance facilities, switching yards, and an 18-stall roundhouse. The railroad had a major impact on Fairbury: by 1890, the population had grown to 2,630. The brick courthouse had survived the fire of 1879; but soon thereafter, it proved too small to handle the county's increasing business and store its growing records. In 1882, the county began renting the top two floors of the newly constructed Opera House, and moved its offices there; but this too was quickly outgrown. In 1889, a $60,000 bond issue for the construction of a new courthouse passed; the new

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

building was completed in 1892. Fairbury continued to prosper as the home of the Rock Island headquarters, which employed many locals directly and in supporting businesses. Commercial and residential development continued apace in Fairbury. Both of the city's banks survived the

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States. It began in February 1893 and officially ended eight months later. The Panic of 1896 followed. It was the most serious economic depression in history until the Great Depression of ...

. Boardwalks were replaced with brick sidewalks between 1892 and 1894; an electricity and waterworks powerhouse was constructed in 1895; and in 1898, electric street lights were installed. By 1900, the population had reached 3,140.

20th century

The decade from 1900 to 1910 saw the largest growth in Fairbury's history; the census of 1910 reported a population of 5,294, representing a sixty percent increase over the ten years. A major fire in 1903 swept the commercial district, destroying almost the entire block south of the courthouse square; the only building to survive was the original brick courthouse. Within a year, however, the entire block had been rebuilt. In 1909, E. J. Hested opened his dime store, The Fair Store, in one of the new buildings. Two years later, the name of the store was changed to Hested's. In 1925, the store moved into a new and larger building; the business expanded to over 150 stores in the Midwest and Mountain States before its acquisition by the J.J. Newberry chain in 1969. The 1910s and 1920s were the peak years for the Rock Island Railroad, with fourteen passenger trains passing through Fairbury daily, and with hundreds of Fairbury residents on the payroll. To accommodate this traffic, the railroad constructed a new depot, at a cost of $40,000. The city's commercial district underwent a considerable expansion, including two movie theaters and several large retail stores. In 1915, civic leaders began promoting the brick paving of Fairbury's downtown streets; by 1930, there were of paved road. The 1920s and 1930s saw a proliferation of automobile-related businesses, such as garages, gas stations, and repair shops. Fairbury was better situated than many communities to weather the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Beside the railroad, it had a variety of industries, including the Fairbury Windmill Company, with a payroll of 50 people in 1930. The city continued to grow through the Depression, despite the difficulties of the Rock Island, which went into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...

in 1933 and did not emerge until 1948. The population of Fairbury peaked in 1950, at 6,395 residents. The conversion of the Rock Island to

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

s, completed by 1952, rendered portions of the Fairbury yards obsolete. The decrease in passenger railway traffic after World War II led to the reduction of service, the closing of stations, and the abandonment of track. In 1965, the Rock Island's Chicago-to-Denver '' Rocky Mountain Rocket'' train ceased to run through Fairbury; in that same year, the railway relocated its Western Division headquarters from Fairbury to

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

. 1965 was also the last year in which the Rock Island reported a profit. In 1975, it again entered receivership. A 1979 strike, unsuccessfully mediated by

President Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, Carter served from 1971 to 1975 ...

, was the final nail in the railroad's coffin. The railroad's routes were operated for 60 days by the

Kansas City Terminal Railway The Kansas City Terminal Railway is a Class III terminal railroad that serves as a joint operation of the trunk railroads that serve the Kansas City metropolitan area, the United States' second largest rail hub after Chicago. It is operated b ...

, to allow shipping of the 1979 Midwestern harvest; but in 1980, service to Fairbury ceased, and the depot was abandoned.

Geography

The city lies on the Little Blue River. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Demographics

With the decrease and eventual cessation of the Rock Island's activity, the population of Fairbury fell from its 1950 peak. In the 2010 U.S. census, it had declined to 3,942 residents. However, the city has remained the commercial, governmental, and retail center of the region.

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 3,942 people, 1,782 households, and 1,007 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 2,145 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.6% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.3% of the population. There were 1,782 households, of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.5% were non-families. 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.79. The median age in the city was 44.5 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.7% were from 25 to 44; 25.6% were from 45 to 64; and 23.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.3% male and 52.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 4,262 people, 1,884 households, and 1,130 families residing in Fairbury. The population density was . There were 2,132 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.89%

, 0.14%

, 0.61% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.63% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.85% of the population. There were 1,884 households, of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were

living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.79. The median age in Fairbury was 44 years. Persons under 18 years of age represented 21.5% of the population; 6.8% were aged from 18 to 24; 22.5%, from 25 to 44; 22.0%, from 45 to 64; and 27.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 86.9 males; for every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 81.7 males. The median income for a Fairbury household was $29,261; the median income for a family was $37,778. Males had a median income of $26,955, versus $16,955 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $17,337. About 10.2% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Thirteen manufacturing plants, with a total of 475 employees, are located in and near Fairbury. The largest among these are Endicott Clay Products, producing brick and tile in nearby Endicott, with 200 employees; Prairie View Industries, producing stainless steel and aluminum handicap ramps and food service equipment, with 80 employees; Fairbury Food Products, with 54 employees; and Tetra Micronutrients, manufacturing

micronutrient Micronutrients are essential chemicals required by organisms in small quantities to perform various biogeochemical processes and regulate physiological functions of cells and organs. By enabling these processes, micronutrients support the heal ...

s for use in fertilizer and animal feed, with 47 employees. Other major local employers include Jefferson Community Health Center (193 employees), Fairbury Public Schools (154 employees), the City of Fairbury (120 employees), Farmers Co-op Elevator Co. (118 employees), and Heritage Nursing Home (90 employees). It is also home to Livingston Enterprises, Inc., which is headquartered in Fairbury, and all of their sites are within a 30 mile radius of the town. Fairbury serves as the retail center of Jefferson County. The historic downtown continues to prosper, with a variety of specialty shops. Major retailing has tended to move toward the northeastern edge of the city, with the first

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

in Nebraska opening in 1982; with the move of Wal-Mart to a larger location, its site was redeveloped as an indoor mall. Other franchised business such as

Dollar General Dollar General Corporation is an American chain of discount stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of January 8, 2024, Dollar General operated 19,643 stores in the contiguous United States and Mexico. The company began in 1939 in ...

, Orscheln Farm & Home, and

Ace Hardware Ace Hardware Corporation is an American hardware retailers' cooperative based in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States. It is the largest non-grocery retail cooperative in the United States. Founded on October 25, 1924, as "Ace Stores", the co ...

, have also located on the northeast.

Sites of interest

The former Rock Island depot is now operated as the Rock Island Railroad Depot Museum, dedicated to the railroad's history. The Fairbury City Museum, located in a former elementary school building, includes both indoor and outdoor displays pertaining to Fairbury's history. A ten-block area of downtown Fairbury, including the courthouse square, is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as the Fairbury Commercial Historic District. Many of the buildings in the district have been little altered, and retain their original form and ornamentation almost intact. Three buildings remain from the first generation of Fairbury's downtown buildings, including the original Jefferson County courthouse and a false-front frame building; other architectural styles represented include

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

, Queen Anne, a variety of revival styles, and 20th-century commercial architectural styles. Rock Creek Station State Historical Park, located southeast of Fairbury, was a station on the Oregon-California Trail, and later served as a

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. During its 18 months of opera ...

station. Well-preserved wagon ruts from wagons on the trail are still visible at the park. In 1861, James Butler Hickok, who had not yet adopted the sobriquet "Wild Bill", was involved in a gunfight at Rock Creek Station, in which Hickok killed local rancher David McCanles. This was the first known killing in Hickok's career as a gunslinger.

Education

Fairbury, a part of Fairbury Public Schools, has two public elementary schools: Central Elementary, with pupils from preschool through second grade; and Jefferson Intermediate, covering third through sixth grade. The two schools have an enrollment of about 480. There is a single public junior-senior high school, located on the former college grounds, straightforwardly named Fairbury Junior-Senior High School, with an enrollment of about 370.

Media

Fairbury has two news sources: ''Fairbury News Now'', which began in 2016, and the weekly ''Fairbury Journal-News''. It also has two radio stations, both owned by Flood Communications: KUTT-FM, broadcasting in a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

format at 100,000 watts; and KGMT-AM, playing

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

Transportation

Although the Rock Island no longer operates, Fairbury is still served by the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

. U.S. Highway 136 and Nebraska Highway 15 intersect in the city. It is from

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

, the nearest Interstate highway. Fairbury Municipal Airport has a concrete runway long enough to land a small private jet, and a shorter turf runway.

Notable people

* Dakota Cochrane, professional mixed martial artist and pornographic actor. * Robert Vernon Denney, United States federal judge and Congressman * Bill Doleman, professional sports broadcaster * Lowell English,

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

general who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. * Lulu Grace Graves, first president of the

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is a multi-unit enterprise that includes a 501(c)(6) trade association in the United States. With over 112,000 members, the association claims to be the largest organization of food and nutrition professiona ...

, 1917-1920 * Ira Hanford (1918–2009), jockey * Doyle Lade, baseball player * Forrest McPherson, football player * Robert L. Scott, professor of communications studies *

Irene Worth Irene Worth, CBE (June 23, 1916March 10, 2002), born Harriett Elizabeth Abrams, was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the British and American theatre. She pronounced her first name with three syllabl ...

, actress

References

"Fairbury Municipal Airport".Welcome to Fairbury.
Retrieved 2011-11-01.
Retrieved 2011-11-01. Zbinden, Van.
"Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway".Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture.
Retrieved 2011-11-01. Carpenter, Estaline.
"Fairbury--Jefferson County."

Nebraska... Our Towns.
Retrieved 2011-11-01.

Welcome to Fairbury.
Retrieved 2011-11-03. Kolberg, Persijs. Retrieved 2011-11-01. Ahlgren, Carol. Retrieved 2011-11-01.

Welcome to Fairbury.
Retrieved 2011-11-01. Williams, Jack.
''San Diego Union-Tribune''.
2005-10-01. Retrieved 2011-11-01.

Welcome to Fairbury.
Retrieved 2011-11-01. ''Fairbury Gazette''. 1875-07-31. McKee, Jim.
''Lincoln Journal Star''.
2010-08-08. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
Retrieved 2011-11-01. "Rock Creek Station State Historical Park".

Nebraska Game and Parks.
Retrieved 2011-11-01. "Rock Creek Station: A State Historical Park".
Brochure issued b
Nebraska Game and Parks.
Retrieved 2011-11-01.

Jefferson County Government Online.
Retrieved 2011-11-01. Fairbury Public Schools
and subpages thereof. Retrieved 2011-11-01. "Railroad Ordered Service Resumed".
''Kentucky New Era'', 1979-09-21
p. 2. Retrieved 2011-11-01. KUTT-95.
Retrieved 2011-11-01. "The KUTT Story".

KUTT99-5.
Retrieved 2011-11-01. "Doyle Lade Stats".Baseball Almanac.
Retrieved 2011-11-01.

Welcome to Fairbury.
Retrieved 2011-11-01. Kooiman, Barbara M., and Eliazabeth A. Butterfield. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
, and subpages thereof.
Welcome to Fairbury.
Retrieved 2011-11-03. "Nebraska Community 'Fast Facts' Profile: Fairbury, Nebraska".Nebraska Public Power District: Economic & Demographic Information.
Retrieved 2011-11-01. Kooiman, Barbara M., and Elizabeth A. Butterfield. Retrieved 2011-11-01.

Welcome to Fairbury.
Retrieved 2011-11-02. Sanders, Jean. "Irene Worth: Acclaimed actress had Nebraska Mennonite heritage".
Profiles of Nationally Distinguished Nebraskans.
Retrieved 2011-11-01.

External links

City Of Fairbury

Fairbury.com

''Fairbury Journal-News''

Fairbury Public Schools
{{Authority control Cities in Nebraska Cities in Jefferson County, Nebraska County seats in Nebraska