Fairfield is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, Iowa. It has a population of 9,416 people, according to the 2020 census. The median family income is 46,138,with10Itbecamethecountyseatin1839with110residentsandgrewto650by1847.Itslibrarywasestablishedin1853,andithelditsfirstfairin1854.EarlyarchitectureinFairfieldincludesworkbyGeorgeFranklinBarberandBarryByrne.TheareanowknownasJeffersonCountywasfirstsettledin1836,andbecameJeffersonCountyin1839,withthenewcommunityofFairfieldasthecountyseat.ThenamewassuggestedbyNancyBonnifield,oneofthesettlers,becauseitaptlydescribedthefairfieldsofthearea.ButalsoauthorSusanWeltysuggestsitwasaplayofwordsonherownname(bonnyfield).By1840,Fairfieldhadapopulationof110andgrewto650in1847.ThecitywasthesiteofthefirstandsecondIowaStateFairs.ThefirstfairwasheldOctober25–27,1854onoflandsurroundedbyafence.Thetotalcosttoholdthefairwasaround320, and public admission was 25 cents per person. It is estimated that between 7,000 and 10,000 fair goers attended this historical event. Parsons College was founded in 1875. In 1893 the Carnegie Library was completed, the first west of the Mississippi. During the time leading up to the American Civil War, Fairfield was a stopping point for the Underground Railroad. Ultimately, over 1,600 residents of Jefferson County served in the Union Army.
Early architecture in Fairfield includes Victorian houses designed by George Franklin Barber as well as a 1915 house designed by Barry Byrne, who trained under Frank Lloyd Wright. A 1930s bank building was designed in the Streamline Moderne style. Commercial and institutional architecture were influenced by the Louden Industries, including the Louden Foundry. Fairfield is the site of the prototype Carnegie library.
In 1892, Senator "Jefferson Jim" Wilson met with Andrew Carnegie and secured a grant to build the first community-based library in the U.
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