Fairbury, Nebraska

Fairbury
	Location in county and state
Basic data
Foundation :	1869
State :	United States
State :	Nebraska
County :	Jefferson County
Coordinates :	40 ° 9 ′ N , 97 ° 11 ′ W Coordinates: 40 ° 9 ′ N , 97 ° 11 ′ W
Time zone :	Central ( UTC − 6 / −5 )
Residents :	4,262 (as of: 2000)
Population density :	852.4 inhabitants per km 2
Area :	5.0 km 2 (approx. 2 mi 2 ) of; which 5.0 km 2 (approx. 2 mi 2 ) is land
Height :	404 m
Postal code :	68352
Area code :	+1 402
FIPS :	31-16410
GNIS ID :	0829201
Website :	www.fairbury.com
Mayor :	LaVeda L. Fry

Fairbury is a city and seat of the county seat of Jefferson County in the US state of Nebraska .

history

Fairbury was part of the Oregon Trail in the 19th century . Settlers James B. Mattingly and Woodford G. McDowell each used 80 of their 160 acres of land guaranteed by the Homestead Act and built a town. They suspected that the railway line would run along their location. It eventually became a stopover on the St. Joseph & Denver City Railroad . Since McDowell came from Fairbury, Illinois , a name was quickly found when it was founded in 1869. School lessons were still held in Mattingly's hut in the founding year. The first hotel was built in 1870 and the Fairbury Gazette was the first newspaper. As early as 1874, Fairbury had 600 residents, a bank and 44 shops. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway built an 18-track round house in Fairbury in 1887 and employed up to 500 people. The population rose to 6500 in 1935. When a round house lost its importance due to the introduction of diesel fuel , many people emigrated again. In 1952 the round house was closed.