Random houses in town (1)

 No distinction on owners, since you didn't know them anyway. The eclectic nature of a town creates varied architecture. Toward the end, the places were starting to look seedy. In their heyday, they were home.

Photos from the Himelick collection

Letters

 A century or more ago, the postman knew where you lived. 

A C Carter was an ESQ

Humboldt, Kansas (no idea on the year)

Nancy E. Laforge of Letts Corner, Indiana (near Greensburg). 

 

Stamp enthusiasts might take a liking to these beauties.

A Post Office database shows a Fairfield Post Office on record in 1898, although it was probably not very active. 

Richard H, Tyner, who was also a shopkeeper, was listed as the Postmaster. Tyner is an interesting study. His brother James served as a member of Congress as well as U.S. Postmaster General in the Grant administration. 

Richard's mother was Martha Sedgwick (Noble) Tyner. She was a sister to Noah Noble, one of Indiana's governors who came from Brookville. Another brother James was once appointed to the U.S. Senate. Noble County in Indiana is named for one or the other. 

Richard (1831-1907) was in business with Albert Miller, whose daughter was Richard's wife. His failing health forced him to sell his store, apparently to George Jinks. 

This little dwelling has been identified as a lot of things, 

but it's probably where the post office was located -- next to the Masonic Lodge. 

Snapshots of the area around the lake

 

The top photo is directed toward the dam, facing south. This is the boat launch just north of Brookville off SR 101.

The bottom photo is the narrow Farm Hill Road linking Causeway Road with Bath Road, west of SR 101. 

Nothing particularly poignant about either photo. In the 1960s, you could not have taken these two pictures.

Our architectural paradise

 The three main buildings in downtown Fairfield are iconic only to people who have a memory of the town. To each, there is a specific memory, or a general one. These old structures were just there, doing what they did in the hundred-plus years they existed. 

There might be evidence on their origins, what they cost, where the building materials came from, what their overall purpose served. Three-story buildings in the 1800s were considered skyscrapers.

Fairfield, as just 'another town' along the river, didn't merit these architectural shrines. Yet, there they stood, to the end. Floors were warped, the ceilings were water-stained and none of them cared if you couldn't climb the steps.

Those upper floors? Not for kids. Not for discussion.

Some of it was used for dwelling space. 

And over the years, for many goods and services. All of it interesting.

The Town Hall:

The K of P lodge (also apartments and various mercantile businesses):

The Masonic Hall:

Not much in these photos that reveals much. But if you are looking for the Golden Age of Fairfield and the East Fork, you found it. Note the architecture. If you know the trends, you can date the structures. The fire escape ladder on the Lodge wall is intriguing. Nobody ever had to use it. 

These photos do not represent their original charm, obviously, since the pictures were taken after Fairfield was doomed. Upkeep had long ceased. How much longer could these buildings have stood? 

Giza.

Street views of Fairfield

This one is from the south end of town. Looking north on Main, the Methodist Parsonage is on the right, across from the Ashland station.

This is looking south on Main at Mulberry Street

This is Bath Road coming into town from the East. 

From the west toward the covered bridge. All of this is under Fairfield Marina.

This was Columbia Street.

This is Main at the Square, looking north. 

House on the right was once the Fairfield Hotel.

Looking north on Main Street

 

 

Photos of the downtown stores

 

Somewhat unimposing, but the two general merchandise stores at the Main-Main Cross intersection. To the right, the taller building, was our Town Hall, known at times as Johnston Hall.

The grocery on the left was owned by George Jinks, Lucille Burke, Roland Updike and finally Willie T. Davis.

The store next to that had various tenants, including Bert Luker. At the end, the Corps of Engineers coaxed in a small restaurant for workers in the valley. This photo taken by Luann Himelick sometime in the late 1960s.

Another view of the Town Hall after Fairfield had been evacuated due to the onrushing flood. The building was erected in the 1880s. The building served many functions, including Halloween parties, Christmas dinners, school lunches and a variety of annual events, as well as serving as our township's voting site. The empty lot next to it once contained a creamery. 

Photos of the Fairfield schools

 This one is the original school, built sometime after 1900.

The second one is the last one, closed in the middle 1960s.