[3] Located at the confluence of the San Pitch River and Cottonwood Creek, Fairview is the largest city in the northeast end of the Sanpete Valley.

Founded in 1859, soon after the resettlement of nearby Mount Pleasant, Fairview was one of the first new towns established during the second wave of Mormon settlement in Sanpete County.

Rows of poplars were planted, streets were graded, and fences were constructed as Fairview took on the appearance of the ubiquitous Mormon village.

In 1864 the town obtained a post office and forsook its original name of North Bend in favor of the more descriptive name Fairview because it "commands an excellent view of the great granary extending south even beyond Manti, thirty miles distant."

In 1900 and again in 1940, the town exceeded 1,700 people; however, in 1980, the population was just 900, ranking Fairview sixth in size among the county's nineteen communities.

Fairview shared its Mormon origin, governance and its overwhelming cultural and religious makeup with its neighboring villages.

Pleasant six miles south, Fairview eventually became its rival, competing vigorously for land, water, timber, grazing rights, and what it considered a fair share of church and government funds.

Following trapper Barney Ward's lead, irrigation ditches were dug and reservoir sites identified soon after settlement.

Beginning in the late 1860s, Fairview developed a one-street commercial district along the old territorial road running through the middle of town.

As was common across the American West, the arrival of the Rio Grande Western Railroad in the 1890s bolstered the town's ability to import equipment and export its surplus goods, quickly growing Fairview's economic strength as it did for other cities in Sanpete county.

Its fortunes rose and fell with the cycle of the regional economy after the railroad-enhanced boom and its population high-water mark was reached in 1900.

The 20th century brought diverse businesses and industries, including dairies, roller mills, coal mining, and fur ranches.

The two 1920s-30s masonry LDS meetinghouses replaced simpler early edifices and reflect a continuing Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presence.

Business buildings remain clustered along Main Street, while houses and outbuildings dot the blocks to the east and west.

Many remnants of the rural landscape remain to identify key elements of Fairview's history and are reflected in its present character.