Fairhaven is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Humboldt County

Humboldt County, California

Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It is located 2.25 miles (3.6 km) west-southwest of downtown Eureka

Eureka, California

Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....

, at an elevation of 10 feet (3 m).

In 1865, Hans Ditlev Bendixsen

Hans Ditlev Bendixsen

Hans Ditlev Bendixsen was an American shipbuilder who was instrumental in the development of the merchant marine industry on the West Coast of the United States. His lumber schooners were built in or near Eureka, California in shipyards on Humboldt Bay for over 30 years...

 opened a ship building yard in Fairhaven. Bendixsen built many vessels for the lumber trade. Bendixsen constructed 92 sailing vessels between 1869 and 1901, including 35 three-masters. These included the C.A. Thayer

C.A. Thayer (1895)

The C.A. Thayer is a schooner built in 1895 near Eureka, California. The schooner is now preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park...

which is now preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located in San Francisco, California, USA. The park includes a fleet of historic vessels, a visitor center, a maritime museum, and a library/research facility...

.
The Rolph post office operated from 1918 to 1921. That name was for Governor James Rolph

James Rolph

James “Sunny Jim” Rolph, Jr. was an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was elected to a single term as the 27th governor of California from January 6, 1931 until his death on June 2, 1934 at the height of the Great Depression...

 of California. The name Fairhaven was taken from Fair Haven, a neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...

.