Fairfax

History

When the Santa Fe Railway chose to go up Salt Creek valley and bypassed the village of Gray Horse (which continues to exist today as the home of one of the Osage tribe's three major historic bands) the present day town of Fairfax was created. Local merchants, including Lew A. Wismeyer, moved buildings from Gray Horse and leased acres for a townsite. Wismeyer rejected the name Coda proposed by the railroad and convinced them to call the depot Fairfax after a hotel he had stayed at in Washington, D.C. The Osage tribe retained title to the townsite until March 3, 1905, when Congress provided for the land to be sold at public auction, with the proceeds credited to the tribe. Fairfax had 470 residents at the time of statehood in 1907. The murders occurred following the discovery of oil on the Osage Nation Reservation (coterminous with the county). At least 24 Osages were murdered in a plot masterminded by William Hale.

Geography

Fairfax is southwest of Pawhuska and southeast of Ponca City. |date=October 2, 2010 }}

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• WOODLAND ES
  Elementary · Fairfax · 180 students · 12.9:1 ratio
• WOODLAND HS
  High · Fairfax · 120 students · 20:1 ratio
• WOODLAND UPPER ES
  Middle · Fairfax · 81 students · 13.5:1 ratio