Fairmont Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Fairmont Area Cameras

Village · Fillmore County · Population 602 (2020 census) · ZIP 68354 · Founded 1871 · Peak population 1,029 (1890)

About Fairmont

Fairmont is a village of 602 people (2020) in northern Fillmore County, at 1,641 feet on US 81 and US 6 about 7 miles north of Geneva. It has the Fillmore County Museum, Fillmore Central Middle School, the city-owned Fairview Manor nursing home and the POET Bioprocessing ethanol plant, which makes about 131 million gallons a year; the Fairmont State Airfield is about 3 miles south. Fairmont is on Central Time.

History

The South Platte Land Company, a subsidiary of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, platted Fairmont in 1871; the tracks arrived by the end of August, the first business opened in October, and the name kept the line’s alphabetical order of stations (Crete, Dorchester, Exeter, Fairmont, Grafton). Fairmont incorporated on May 25, 1873. The Nebraska Signal was founded here in 1881, a second Burlington line came in 1886 and the Kansas City & Omaha in 1887. The Fairmont Creamery, opened in 1884, was called the world’s largest creamery by 1921. Construction of Fairmont Army Air Field began south of town on September 17, 1942; seven bomb groups trained there on B-24s, B-17s and B-29s, and in September 1944 Lt. Col. Paul Tibbets chose its 393rd Bomb Squadron for the 509th Composite Group. The base was inactivated late in 1945 and given to the state in 1946 for civilian use. The village had its most people, 1,029, in 1890.

Highways and trails through Fairmont

Route	One way	Other way
US 81North–south through the village	North to McCool Junction and York	South to Geneva
US 6East–west along the BNSF	West to Grafton and Sutton	East to Exeter and Friend

Nearby towns

Grafton	about 7 mi west	US 6
Geneva	about 7 mi south	US 81
Exeter	about 7 mi east	US 6
McCool Junction	about 8 mi north	US 81
Sutton	about 14 mi west	US 6
York	about 16 mi north	US 81

Things to see

the Fillmore County Museum, 600 6th Ave. (Wednesdays 2–4, June–September, and by appointment) · the Fairmont Creamery Company Building (National Register, 1983), 6th Ave. and F St. · the Lincoln Telephone & Telegraph exchange building (National Register, 2006), 635 6th Ave. · the Fairmont Army Air Field, about 2 miles south, with History Nebraska markers on Road H · the Real WPA, 2 miles north

Schools and health care

Schools: Fillmore Central Middle School (5–8), 950 F St.; elementary and high school in Geneva

Health care: Fairview Manor (nursing home), 255 F St., (402) 268-2271; Hospital: Fillmore County Hospital, Geneva, about 7 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); History Nebraska Fillmore County historic buildings survey (2020) and markers; National Register; Nebraska Game and Parks; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; UNL climate records; Nebraska Secretary of State; Nebraska Department of Education; Fillmore County; City of Geneva; Nebraska 211; Visit Nebraska. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.