Fairfield Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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City · Clay County · Population 330 (2020 census) · ZIP 68938 · Founded 1872 · Peak population 1,203 (1900)

About Fairfield

Fairfield is a city of 330 people (2020) in southern Clay County, at 1,778 feet where NE 14 and NE 74 meet, about 7 miles south-southwest of Clay Center. The Sandy Creek Public Schools campus is just outside town on Highway 14, and the Fairfield Opera House Brewery & Grill serves in the 1894 opera house. Kissinger Basin and Bulrush wildlife management areas are close by. Fairfield is on Central Time.

History

Maximilian Reed claimed the townsite quarter in 1871, and John Clancy, who ran the boarding car for the track crews, was the first to live in town. The White Elm post office opened 2 miles northwest that fall and moved into town on June 27, 1873. The St. Joseph & Denver City Railroad built its depot in June 1872 and finished its track here on July 2. The railroad named stations alphabetically; another Nebraska town already had the name Frankfort, so this one became Fairfield. The county commissioners incorporated it in June 1878, and by 1890 it was the junction of the St. Joseph & Grand Island and its Alma branch, both part of the Union Pacific. Fairfield peaked at 1,203 people in 1900. Samuel R. McKelvie, governor of Nebraska from 1919 to 1923, was born near Fairfield on April 15, 1881.

Highways and trails through Fairfield

Route	One way	Other way
NE 14North–south through the city	North to Clay Center	South to Nelson
NE 74Through the city, briefly with NE 14	East toward Shickley	West toward Glenvil and Ayr

Nearby towns

Deweese	about 6 mi south-southwest	NE 14 and Spur 18C
Clay Center	about 7 mi north-northeast	NE 14
Edgar	about 8 mi east-southeast	County roads
Glenvil	about 9 mi west-northwest	NE 74 and Spur 18E
Lawrence	about 13 mi southwest	County roads
Pauline	about 13 mi west	NE 74
Inland	about 13 mi north-northwest	County roads
Harvard	about 13 mi north	NE 14
Nelson	about 16 mi south	NE 14
Hastings	about 19 mi northwest	NE 74 and US 281

Things to see

the Fairfield Opera House Brewery & Grill, 415 N. D St., in the 1894 opera house · the Fairfield Public Library, 412 N. D St. (Carnegie library, National Register 2001) · Kissinger Basin WMA, about a mile north (check Game and Parks for access) · Bulrush WMA, 1 mile east and 3 south

Schools and health care

Schools: Sandy Creek Public Schools, 30671 Highway 14: Sandy Creek Elementary (PK–5), Middle School (6–8) and High School (9–12) on one campus outside Fairfield

Health care: Nearest hospital: Mary Lanning Healthcare, Hastings, about 19 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Clay County (claycounty.ne.gov); City of Sutton; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Johnson, History of Nebraska (1880); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890–91); NEGenWeb Clay County; Newberry Library county atlas; National Register (NRHP nominations); History Nebraska; HMdb; Nebraska Game and Parks; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Rainwater Basin WMD); USDA-ARS; SABR; Visit Nebraska; SchoolDigger. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.