Fairport Harbor's location at the mouth of the Grand River made it an ideal place for a settlement.

[8] After receiving federal sponsorship, the village's port flourished, and an influx of Finns, Hungarians, and Slovaks arrived there.

The port also imported iron ore for use at area steel mills.

[6] In recent years Fairport Harbor has hosted the Lake County Perch Fest[9][10] and opened the Finnish Heritage Museum.

On January 24, 2011, an overpressurized Dominion East Ohio natural gas pipeline caused devices in at least 17 dwellings to explode, causing the structures to burn and leading to a mass evacuation.

[14] While no injuries were reported in the community,[12][15] the cost of damage was placed at approximately $1.2 million.

There were 1,677 housing units at an average density of 1,628.2 per square mile (628.7/km2).

38.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

15.9% were of German, 12.3% Finnish, 11.5% Hungarian, 11.2% Irish, 9.3% Italian and 5.2% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.