Fairfield is a city and

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 ...

of Freestone County,

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 population was 2,850 at the 2020 census, down from 3,094 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1851.

Geography

Fairfield is located in the center of Freestone County.

Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. While most primary Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, ...

passes through the west side of the city, leading north to

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

and south to

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 ...

. Access is from Exits 197 and 198. U.S. Route 84 runs directly through the city, leading east to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and west to Waco.

Texas State Highway 75 State Highway 75 (SH 75) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas. It follows the former routing of U.S. Route 75 (US 75), which was supplanted by Interstate 45 south of Dallas, except in Dallas, where the form ...

(Fairway) crosses US 84 at the west end of downtown, and leads northwest to Streetman and south to

Dew Dew is water in the form of droplets that appears on thin, exposed objects in the morning or evening due to condensation. As the exposed surface cools by thermal radiation, radiating its heat, atmospheric moisture condenses at a rate grea ...

. 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 , of which , or 0.07%, is water.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cold winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Fairfield has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,850 people, 932 households, and 658 families residing in the city. 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 2000, there were 3,094 people, 1,235 households, and 791 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,431 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 71.46%

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 ...

, 21.43%

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 ...

, 0.26% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 4.65% from other races, and 1.52% 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 10.50% of the population. There were 1,235 households, out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% 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, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.06. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,636, and the median income for a family was $40,871. Males had a median income of $29,643 versus $15,887 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 $16,308. About 14.1% of families and 18.2% 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 20.4% of those under age 18 and 22.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Laverne Brackens, quilt maker * Tony Brackens, NFL player * Louis Cheek, NFL player *

Kenny Dorham McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and occasional singer. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention ...

, jazz trumpeter * Nanceen Perry, track runner, Olympian * Larry Rose III, NFL, CFL, XFL player * Winfred Tubbs, NFL player

Education

The city is served by the Fairfield Independent School District. Navarro College offers year-round classes at their Navarro College Career & Technical Center at Fairfield campus for undergraduate and graduate students.Navarro College Career & Technical Center at Fairfield
/ref>

Gallery

File:The Fridolin (Fred) Fischer Home -- Fairfield, Texas.jpg, The Fridolin (Fred) Fischer Home File:Old Freestone County Jail -- Fairfield, Texas.jpg, Old Freestone County Jail -- Fairfield, Texas File:Val Verde Battery, C.S.A.jpg, This cannon was taken at the Civil War battle of Val Verde. It is on the Freestone County Courthouse grounds. File:Butler Church Bell.jpg, Butler Church Bell. From a sunken riverboat, to Butler Church then to become a historical bell.

References

External links

City of Fairfield official website
* {{authority control Cities in Texas Cities in Freestone County, Texas County seats in Texas