Fairbury, Nebraska
Encyclopedia
Fairbury is a city in Jefferson County
, Nebraska
, United States
. The population was 4,262 at the 2000 census
. It is the county seat
of Jefferson County
.
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
. Fairbury prospered with the Rock Island, and lost business and residents as the railroad declined and eventually went out of business. However, it retained a solid base of manufacturers, and remains the governmental and commercial hub of Jefferson County.
, 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 80 acres (32.4 ha) 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
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.
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
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
. 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.
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 10 miles (16.1 km) 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
. 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 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
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
. 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
, was the final nail in the railroad's coffin. The railroad's routes were operated for 60 days by the Kansas City Terminal Railway
, to allow shipping of the 1979 Midwestern harvest; but in 1980, service to Fairbury ceased, and the depot was abandoned.
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.
, it has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 4,262 people, 1,884 households, and 1,130 families residing in Fairbury. The population density
was 2,227.2 people per square mile (861.6/km²). There were 2,132 housing units at an average density of 1,114.1 per square mile (431.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.89% White, 0.14% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races
, and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanic 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 married couples
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
for the city was $17,337. About 10.2% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.
, 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
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).
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
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
, Orscheln Farm & Home
, and Ace Hardware
, have also located on the northeast.
, broadcasting in a country music
format at 100,000 watts; and KGMT-AM
, playing oldies
. A locally-produced website, keithtrimm.com, also covers local news, events, and community issues.
. U.S. Highway 136 and Nebraska Highway 15
intersect in the city. It is 44 miles (70.8 km) from Interstate 80
, the nearest Interstate highway. Fairbury Municipal Airport has a concrete runway long enough to land a small private jet, and a shorter turf runway.
A ten-block area of downtown Fairbury, including the courthouse square, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
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
, 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
station. Well-preserved wagon ruts from wagons on the trail are still visible at the park. In 1861, James Butler Hickock, who had not yet adopted the sobriquet "Wild Bill", was involved in a gunfight at Rock Creek Station, in which Hickock killed local rancher David McCanles
. This was the first known killing in Hickock's career as a gunslinger.
, a United States Marine Corps
general who served in World War II
, the Korean War
, and the Vietnam War
, was born in Fairbury in 1915; he graduated from high school in Lincoln, Nebraska
. Irene Worth
, an actress on stage, screen, and radio, was born in Fairbury in 1916; her family moved to California when she was four years old. Doyle Lade
, a pitcher
for the Chicago Cubs
, was born in Fairbury in 1921.
Jefferson County, Nebraska
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 8,333 people, 3,527 households, and 2,352 families residing in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile . There were 3,942 housing units at an average density of 7 per square mile...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 4,262 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Nebraska
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 8,333 people, 3,527 households, and 2,352 families residing in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile . There were 3,942 housing units at an average density of 7 per square mile...
.
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
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:...
. Fairbury prospered with the Rock Island, and lost business and residents as the railroad declined and eventually went out of business. However, it retained a solid base of manufacturers, and remains the governmental and commercial hub of Jefferson County.
History
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, IllinoisFairbury, Illinois
Fairbury is a city in Livingston County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,968 at the 2000 census.-We Hear You America:In November 2010, the fundraising committee for Dominy Memorial Library began encouraging Fairbury citizens to visit the Reader's Digest web site and "Cheer" for the...
, 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 80 acres (32.4 ha) 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
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
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.
Rock Island
In 1886, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific RailroadChicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:...
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
Roundhouse
A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...
. 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 architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
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
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
. 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
J.J. Newberry
J.J. Newberry's was an American five and dime store chain in the 20th century. It was founded in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, United States, in 1911 by John Josiah Newberry . J.J. Newberry had learned the variety store business by working at S.H...
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 10 miles (16.1 km) 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
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. 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
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
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
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
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
Rocky Mountain Rocket
The Rocky Mountain Rocket was a streamlined passenger train of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. Rock Island's train numbers 7 and 8 ran from Chicago's LaSalle Street Station to Denver's Union Station and Colorado Springs, Colorado...
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, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
. 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
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, was the final nail in the railroad's coffin. The railroad's routes were operated for 60 days by the Kansas City Terminal Railway
Kansas City Terminal Railway
The Kansas City Terminal Railway is a Class III railroad terminal railroad that serves as a joint operation of the trunk railroads that serve the Kansas City metropolitan area, the country's second largest rail hub. It is presently operated by the Kaw River Railroad.The Railway was created after a...
, to allow shipping of the 1979 Midwestern harvest; but in 1980, service to Fairbury ceased, and the depot was abandoned.
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.
Geography
Fairbury is located at 40°8′27"N 97°10′39"W (40.140917, -97.177545). The city lies on the Little Blue River. According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, it has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 4,262 people, 1,884 households, and 1,130 families residing in Fairbury. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,227.2 people per square mile (861.6/km²). There were 2,132 housing units at an average density of 1,114.1 per square mile (431.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.89% White, 0.14% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanic 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 married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
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
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $17,337. About 10.2% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, 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 EndicottEndicott, Nebraska
Endicott is a village in Jefferson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 139 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Endicott is located at ....
, 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
Micronutrient
Micronutrients are nutrients required by humans and other living things throughout life in small quantities to orchestrate a whole range of physiological functions, but which the organism itself cannot produce. For people, they include dietary trace minerals in amounts generally less than 100...
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).
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
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
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
Dollar General Corp. is a U.S. chain of variety stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of January 2011, Dollar General operated over 9,300 stores in 35 U.S. states....
, Orscheln Farm & Home
Orscheln
Orscheln is a Farm & Home store chain with over 200 locations all across the U.S. Orscheln Headquarters is located in Moberly, Missouri. products that Orscheln carries are Lawn & Garden supplies, Farm Supplies, Electrical, Automotive, Animal health supplies, Pet supplies, Sporting goods....
, and Ace Hardware
Ace Hardware
Ace Hardware Corporation is a hardware cooperative based in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States. ACE Hardware Corporation, with 4,444 stores, does over $3 billion in retail hardware sales annually down from its peak of $12.5 billion in 2007.-History:...
, have also located on the northeast.
Education
Fairbury has two public elementary schools: Central Elementary, with pupils from kindergarten through third grade; and Jefferson Intermediate, covering third through sixth grade. The two schools have an enrollment of about 480. A single private elementary school, St. Michael's Elementary School, has an enrollment of about 50. 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 a single newspaper, the weekly Fairbury Journal-News. It also has two radio stations, both owned by Siebert Communications: KUTT-FMKUTT
KUTT is a radio station broadcasting a Country music format. Licensed to Fairbury, Nebraska, USA, the station serves the Lincoln area. The station is currently owned by Siebert Communications....
, broadcasting in a country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
format at 100,000 watts; and KGMT-AM
KGMT
KGMT is a radio station broadcasting a Oldies format. Licensed to Fairbury, Nebraska. The station is currently owned by Siebert Communications, Inc....
, playing oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
. A locally-produced website, keithtrimm.com, also covers local news, events, and community issues.
Transportation
Although the Rock Island no longer operates, Fairbury is still served by the Union Pacific RailroadUnion Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
. U.S. Highway 136 and Nebraska Highway 15
Nebraska Highway 15
Nebraska Highway 15 is a highway in Nebraska. It has a southern terminus at the Kansas border south of Fairbury and a northern terminus northeast of Maskell at the South Dakota border.-Route description:...
intersect in the city. It is 44 miles (70.8 km) from Interstate 80
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following Interstate 90. It is a transcontinental artery running from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area...
, the nearest Interstate highway. Fairbury Municipal Airport has a concrete runway long enough to land a small private jet, and a shorter turf runway.
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
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
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
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
, 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
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
, and later served as a Pony Express
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
station. Well-preserved wagon ruts from wagons on the trail are still visible at the park. In 1861, James Butler Hickock, who had not yet adopted the sobriquet "Wild Bill", was involved in a gunfight at Rock Creek Station, in which Hickock killed local rancher David McCanles
McCanles Gang
The supposed McCanles Gang or McCandless Gang was known as an outlaw gang in the early 1860s that was wanted for alleged train robbery, murder, bank robbery, cattle rustling, and horse theft. However, there are questions surrounding the veracity of not only the allegations, but the existence of any...
. This was the first known killing in Hickock's career as a gunslinger.
Notable residents
Lowell EnglishLowell English
Major General Lowell Edward English was a United States Marine Corps general who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.-Biography:Lowell English was born in Fairbury, Nebraska, on July 8, 1915. He received a B.A...
, a United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
general who served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, and the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, was born in Fairbury in 1915; he graduated from high school in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
. Irene Worth
Irene Worth
Irene Worth, CBE was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the English and American theatre. -Early life:...
, an actress on stage, screen, and radio, was born in Fairbury in 1916; her family moved to California when she was four years old. Doyle Lade
Doyle Lade
Doyle Marion Lade was a Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched for the Chicago Cubs from to . Born in Fairbury, Nebraska, Lade began his baseball career when he was signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent in 1941...
, a pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
for the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
, was born in Fairbury in 1921.
External links
- City Of Fairbury
- Fairbury.com
- Fairbury Journal-News
- Keith Trimm.com (local news website)