FAIRFIELD

fairfield, a city and the county-seat of jefferson county, iowa, u.s.a., about 51 m. w. by n. of burlington. pop. (1890) 3391; (1900) 4689, of whom 206 were foreign-born and 54 were negroes; (1905) 5009; (1910) 4970. area, about 2.25 sq. m. fairfield is served by the chicago, burlington & quincy, and the chicago, rock island & pacific railways. the city is in a blue grass country, in which much live stock is bred; and it is an important market for draft horses. it is the seat of parsons college (presbyterian, coeducational, 1875), endowed by lewis baldwin parsons, sr. (1798-1855), a merchant of buffalo, n.y. the college offers classical, philosophical and scientific courses, and has a school of music and an academic department; in 1907-1908 it had 19 instructors and 257 students, of whom 93 were in the college and 97 were in the school of music. fairfield has a carnegie library (1892), and a museum with a collection of laces. immediately e. of the city is an attractive chautauqua park, of 30 acres, with an auditorium capable of seating about 4000 persons; and there is an annual chautauqua assembly. the principal manufactures of fairfield are farm waggons, farming implements, drain-tile, malleable iron, cotton gloves and mittens and cotton garments. the municipality owns its waterworks and an electric-lighting plant. fairfield was settled in 1839; was incorporated as a town in 1847; and was first chartered as a city in the same year. see charles h. fletcher, _jefferson county, iowa: centennial history_ (fairfield, 1876).