Fairview is a small

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

on the boundary between

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and Todd counties in the western part of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258, down from the 2010 census total of 286, with 186 living in Christian County and 100 living in Todd County. It is chiefly notable as the birthplace of

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

, later

President of the Confederate States of America The president of the Confederate States was the head of state and head of government of the unrecognized breakaway Confederate States. The president was the chief executive of the federal government and commander-in-chief of the Confederate A ...

, and as the location of the Jefferson Davis State Historic Site.

History

The community was likely first established by Samuel Davis, a Revolutionary War veteran who settled on the Todd County side around 1793. Davis opened the first

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

there on October 1, 1802, naming the locale "Davisburg." His son,

, the future

, was born here on June 3, 1808. The Davis family remained in the area until 1810, when they relocated to the

Bayou Teche Bayou Teche (Louisiana French: ''Bayou Têche'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 20, 2011 waterway in south central Louisiana in the United States. Bayou Teche ...

in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. The community was later known as "Georgetown" after local tavern keeper George Nichols. The town was incorporated as "Fairview" on February 6, 1846; the Fairview Post Office opened on the Christian County side on June 8. The post office moved back and forth between Christian and Todd counties over the years; in the early 1980s it was located on the Christian County side. In the 1880s ten Fairview locals purchased the old Davis property as a new home for Bethel Baptist Church. Working with Jefferson Davis, the buyers ceremonially deeded the lot to him, and he in turn donated it to Bethel Baptist Church on March 10, 1886. The old Davis homestead was demolished and replaced with a new

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

church. This burned down in 1900, and the present building was erected on the site the following year. In 1917, construction of the Jefferson Davis State Historic Site began. It was completed in 1924.

Geography

Fairview is located along U.S. Route 68 /

Kentucky Route 80 Kentucky Route 80 (KY 80) is a state highway in the southern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. The route originates on the state's western border at Columbus in Hickman County and stretches across the southern portion of the stat ...

, about east of

Hopkinsville Hopkinsville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2020 census was 31,180. History Early years The area of present-day Hopkinsville was initially claimed in 1796 ...

and west of Elkton. The original route of U.S. 68 passed through the town; the new route passes less than north of the town, and the original route is now called Jefferson Davis Road. The community is part of the Clarksville, TN–KY Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Demographics

Education

Portions in Christian County are in the Christian County School District. Portions in Todd County are in the Todd County School District.
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References

External links

''Kentucky Atlas and Gazetteer'', University of Kentucky
Entry at CityTownInfo.com
{{authority control Census-designated places in Kentucky Census-designated places in Christian County, Kentucky Census-designated places in Todd County, Kentucky Clarksville metropolitan area Populated places established in 1793