Fairbanks, Houston facts for kids
Fairbanks is a community located in western Houston, Texas. It's found along a major highway, U.S. Highway 290, and near the Southern Pacific Railroad. For a while, Fairbanks was its own separate area within Harris County before it became part of Houston.
Fairbanks: A Look Back
Fairbanks was started in July 1895 by a person named John Joseph Fairbanks, who the community is named after. That same year, Fairbanks got its very first post office, which helped people send and receive mail.
By 1914, about 75 people lived in Fairbanks. The community had a general store where people could buy many different things, a saloon, and a grocery store for food.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the number of people living in Fairbanks went down to about 25. But things changed! By 1942, the community grew a lot, with 800 residents and 35 businesses.
However, in the 1950s, the population dropped again to 350 people. In 1956, the big city of Houston officially took over Fairbanks. This is called "annexation," meaning Fairbanks became a part of Houston.
After becoming part of Houston, Fairbanks started to grow again. In the 1960s, the Fairbanks area and nearby communities had 1,050 residents and 45 businesses. In 1980 and 1990, about 1,050 people lived directly in Fairbanks, with even more people living in the surrounding areas.
Learning in Fairbanks
Fairbanks is part of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District. This school district helps manage the public schools in the area.
Local Schools
Before the 1930s, the Fairbanks School District managed Bane Elementary and Fairbanks High School. Fairbanks High School was later called Carverdale High School.
Until the 1960s, Carverdale High School was used as a separate school for African-American students. This was during a time when schools were separated by race in the American South. Later, the Houston Community College System used the Carverdale High School building as its Carverdale Campus.
College and Library Resources
Lone Star College serves the Fairbanks community. This college system offers classes for students after high school. The area within the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD joined this college district in the year 2000.
Lone Star College has a Fairbanks Center. This center is part of Lone Star College–CyFair and helps students in the area get a college education.
The Harris County Public Library also has a branch in Fairbanks. It's called the Fairbanks Branch Library and is located at 7122 North Gessner Drive. This library opened in 1970. It was first 5,000 square feet big, and then it was made larger in 1990 to be 7,247 square feet.
Cypress Ridge High School is another important school in the area. It's located at 7900 North Eldridge Parkway. This high school opened in 2002 and currently has more than 3,000 students.
