The first permanent settlers arrived in the present town at the time of the Cherokee Outlet land opening on September 16, 1893. The town received its name from Adam Bower, an early settler, because of its scenic location along the Cimarron River. The Bower family built a wooden building in which they opened a post office on April 18, 1894. One of Adam's sons, Clifford, served as the first postmaster. The Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway, built a track through Fairview. The first train arrived on August 20, 1903. The railroad soon established machine shops, a roundhouse, and a division office in the town. The town site was originally within territorial Woods County, but became part of Major County, Oklahoma, upon its creation at statehood. It was designated as the county seat of Major County, which became permanent after an election December 22, 1908. It beat three competing communities that vied for the title: Cleo Springs, Orienta, and Ringwood. Fairview had 887 residents at statehood, increasing to 2,020 in 1910.
Geography
Fairview is located at. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and 0.14% is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,733 people, 1,131 households, and 762 families residing in the city. The population density was 390.9 people per square mile. There were 1,308 housing units at an average density of 187.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 96.74% White, 0.07% African American, 1.24% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.26% from other races, and 1.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.46% of the population. There were 1,131 households out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couplesliving together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.86. In the city, the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over there were 80.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,136, and the median income for a family was $37,107. Males had a median income of $31,141 versus $17,279 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,101. About 8.5% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.
;Fairview High School Fairview High School has achieved academic, athletic, and other extracurricular excellence during its continuing existence. ;Northwest Technology Center
Notable people
Shirley "S. L." Abbott, Texas legislator and U.S. Ambassador
