Fairport is an unincorporated community in Paradise Township

Paradise Township, Russell County, Kansas

Paradise Township is a township in Russell County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 166.-Geography:...

, Russell County

Russell County, Kansas

Russell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. The county's population was 6,970 for the 2010 census...

, Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

History

In 1879, Knight & Bradshaw built Fairport Mills, a steam and water-powered flour mill, at a site on the Saline River

Saline River (Kansas)

The Saline River is a tributary of the Smoky Hill River in the central Great Plains of North America. The entire length of the river lies in the U.S. state of Kansas. The river takes its name from the French translation of its Native name Ne Miskua, referring to its salty content.-Geography:The...

 northwest of Russell, Kansas

Russell, Kansas

Russell is the most populous city in and county seat of Russell County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,506.-History:...

. A rural post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 had opened near the site in October 1878 under the name Clarkson, but changed its name to Fairport in 1881. The village of Fairport grew up around the mill and, by 1910, had local trade and a population of 75. The post office closed in 1959.

Geography

Fairport is located at 39°02′45"N 99°01′50"W (39.0458446, -99.0306464) at an elevation of 1,686 feet (514 m). It lies in the Smoky Hills

Smoky Hills

The Smoky Hills are an upland region of hills in the central Great Plains of North America. They are located in the central United States, encompassing north-central Kansas and a small portion of south-central Nebraska. The hills are a dissected plain covered by tallgrass and mixed-grass prairie...

 region of the Great Plains

Great Plains

The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...

 on the Saline River

Saline River (Kansas)

The Saline River is a tributary of the Smoky Hill River in the central Great Plains of North America. The entire length of the river lies in the U.S. state of Kansas. The river takes its name from the French translation of its Native name Ne Miskua, referring to its salty content.-Geography:The...

 which wraps around the east, north, and west sides of the town in a meander

Meander

A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...

. Fairport is roughly 14 miles (22 km) northwest of Russell

Russell, Kansas

Russell is the most populous city in and county seat of Russell County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,506.-History:...

, 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....

.

Transportation

Paradise-Fairport Road, an unpaved east-west county road, enters Fairport from the east, turns north through the town, then turns west and exits the town, becoming Fairport-Natoma Road.