Local events in Fairport Harbor
13 events in the next 90 days from 2 public calendars. All local events in Fairport Harbor
Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.
Deep dives about Fairport Harbor
Long reads built from maps, newspapers and public records. All deep dives
How Fairport Harbor began
Fairport Harbor grew at the mouth of the Grand River, where the Connecticut Land Company claimed land in 1796-97 and where a village called Grandon was platted in 1812; it incorporated in 1836 as Fairport, a 'commendatory name,' and took its present name in 1959. A government lighthouse rebuilt in 1871 guided iron-ore traffic into a busy Great Lakes port, and waves of Finnish, Hungarian and Slovak immigrants who came to work the docks gave the small village an ethnic character distinctive in Lake County, preserved today in its Finnish Heritage Museum. In 1922 Fairport Harbor elected Dr. Amy Kaukonen the first female mayor in Ohio.
Settled 1796-1797 (Connecticut Land Company claim), platted May 16, 1812 (as Grandon), incorporated 1836 (as Fairport); renamed Fairport Harbor in 1959.
Where the name comes from
The village was platted in 1812 as Grandon, after the Grand River at whose mouth it sits. On incorporating in 1836 it took the name Fairport, described in Wikipedia's sourcing as simply 'a commendatory name' meant to advertise the harbor's virtues; the village adopted its current, more specific name, Fairport Harbor, in 1959.
Before the town
No Native American village, trail or site specific to present Fairport Harbor is documented in the sources consulted. The village lies at the mouth of the Grand River, a corridor used by Whittlesey-culture villagers before about 1650 (documented upstream at Indian Point in LeRoy Township) and by later historic nations.
Timeline
- — The town of Grandon is platted at the mouth of the Grand River on May 16.
- — Local contractor Jonathan Goldsmith builds the first Grand River (Fairport Harbor) Light, a 56-foot whitewashed brick tower, for $5,032.41.
- — The village incorporates under the name Fairport.
- — A replacement 60-foot sandstone lighthouse is lit on August 11 after the original tower's foundation began settling; it operates until 1925.
- — The Diamond Alkali Company operates a chemical plant in the village.
- — Dr. Amy Kaukonen, a Finnish-American physician who had moved to Fairport Harbor in 1920, is elected mayor -- the first female mayor in Ohio and among the first in the United States.
- — The Fairport Historical Society establishes the Fairport Marine Museum in the retired 1871 lighthouse, dedicating it July 2, 1946.
- — The lighthouse and keeper's house are listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 5.
- — The village adopts its current name, Fairport Harbor.
- — A natural gas pipeline explosion on January 24 damages at least 17 dwellings and causes an estimated $1.2 million in damage, with no injuries.
Stories
Ohio's first woman mayor takes on the bootleggers
Amy Kaukonen was the daughter of Finnish immigrants, born in Lorain in 1891, who trained as a physician in Philadelphia and moved to Fairport Harbor in 1920 to open a medical practice in a village whose docks and chemical plants had drawn a heavily immigrant, hard-drinking workforce. What she saw in that practice -- the damage alcohol abuse did to her patients -- pushed her into politics, and in 1922 the village elected her mayor, making her the first woman to hold that office anywhere in Ohio and one of the first in the country. She governed as she had diagnosed: aggressively enforcing licensing rules to shut down pool halls and bootleg-whiskey operations, sending violators to jail, and taking threats and at least one physical assault for it. She was no simple prohibitionist scold, though -- she publicly defended bobbed hair, short skirts, jazz and dancing against critics who lumped them in with the vices she was actually trying to stop, while opposing corsets on medical grounds. Kaukonen resigned before finishing her term and left for Seattle in 1923, eventually settling back in Lake County, where she died in Painesville at ninety-three.
A lighthouse that outlived its own replacement
The lighthouse that still stands at Fairport Harbor is actually the village's second: the original 1825 tower, a 56-foot whitewashed brick structure built by local contractor Jonathan Goldsmith, began settling on its foundation, and by 1869 Congress had appropriated $30,000 for a sturdier 60-foot sandstone replacement, lit for the first time on August 11, 1871. That second tower guided ships through the mouth of the Grand River -- by then a busy port shipping iron ore inland to area steel mills -- until the Coast Guard activated a newer breakwater light in 1925 and retired it. Rather than let the old tower fall into ruin, the Fairport Historical Society reopened it in 1946 as the Fairport Marine Museum, and the building earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, a monument now to the port that made the village rather than to any function it still serves.
Photographs
Photo: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Lighthouses / National Archives, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org
Historic places
1 place in Fairport Harbor on the National Register of Historic Places. Press a pin or a name for its whole record.
-
Fairport Marine MuseumStructure · Fairport Harbor · listed 1971
- Address
- 129 2nd St.
- Where
- Fairport Harbor, Lake County · ZIP 44077
- What it is
- Structure
- Listed on the National Register
- 1971
- NRIS reference number
- 71000642
- Coordinates
- 41.75686, -81.27745
National Register file (NPS) ↗ Search Wikipedia ↗ Street map and directions ↗ On the Cracked Buckeye map
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places point file. The listing year is shown where NPS's certification date agrees with the listing's reference number. Listing recognizes significance; it does not restrict a private owner.
Water
Lake Erie, drawn through a new 4,000-foot microtunneled intake (completed 2020) extending from the Painesville-area shoreline, replacing the city's older nearshore crib The water here
- Painesville City55% of residentsLake Erie
- Lake County East Water Subdistrict24% of residentsLake Erie
- Aqua Ohio - Mentor16% of residentsLake Erie
- Fairport Harbor Village5% of residentsLake Erie
Hospitals, fire stations and more
Inside Fairport Harbor's boundary: 1 fire or EMS station, 2 public schools, 1 library, 2 museums, 1 police station, 2 Superfund sites, 2 Toxics Release Inventory facilities and 6 spill cases. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.
Fire and EMS stations (1)
-
Fairport Harbor Fire DepartmentFairport Harbor
- Address
- 220 3rd Street, Fairport Harbor, OH 44077
- Coordinates
- 41.75533, -81.27598
USGS National Map structures (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: USGS National Map structures (most Ohio records last updated 2019 to 2022), checked against the Columbus and Cleveland station lists. The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction and mutual aid, not by distance.
Public schools (2)
-
Fairport Harding High School3.5 of 5 stars · Fairport Harbor
- Address
- 329 Vine St, Fairport Harbor, OH 44077
- School district
- Fairport Harbor Ex Vill School District
- Kind (NCES)
- Regular School
- Students, 2023-24
- 336
- Teachers (full-time equivalent)
- 18
- Report card, 2025-26
- 3.5 of 5 stars
- Performance index
- 63.6%
- Four-year graduation rate
- 96.4%
- Ohio building IRN
- 011239
- NCES school ID
- 390453602190
NCES school record ↗ Ohio School Report Card ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Mckinley Elementary School2.5 of 5 stars · Fairport Harbor
- Address
- 602 Plum St, Fairport Harbor, OH 44077
- School district
- Fairport Harbor Ex Vill School District
- Kind (NCES)
- Regular School
- Students, 2023-24
- 263
- Teachers (full-time equivalent)
- 15
- Report card, 2025-26
- 2.5 of 5 stars
- Performance index
- 68.4%
- Ohio building IRN
- 023804
- NCES school ID
- 390453602191
NCES school record ↗ Ohio School Report Card ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: NCES EDGE public school locations 2024-25 and Common Core of Data 2023-24 (type, students, teachers); Ohio School Report Cards 2025-26 (Department of Education and Workforce), matched by name within the district.
Public libraries (1)
-
Fairport Harbor Public LibraryCentral library · Fairport Harbor
- Address
- 335 Vine St., Fairport Harbor, OH 44077
- What it is
- Central library
- Library system
- Fairport Harbor Public Library
- Open
- 2,600 hours a year, 52 weeks
- Building
- 7,534 sq ft
- System's visits, FY2024
- 13,260
- System's loans, FY2024
- 53,832
- People the system serves
- 3,122
- Phone
- (440) 354-8191
IMLS Public Libraries Survey (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: IMLS Public Libraries Survey FY2024 (outlets and their systems). Any Ohio resident can get a free card at any Ohio public library.
Museums, historical societies, gardens and zoos (2)
-
Fairport Marine MuseumMuseum · Fairport Harbor
- What it is
- Museum
- City
- Fairport Harbor
- Coordinates
- 41.75684, -81.27847
Search Wikipedia ↗ IMLS Museum Data Files (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
The museum list is IMLS's 2018 file; a museum may have closed or moved since.
-
Finnish Heritage MuseumHistory museum · Fairport Harbor
- What it is
- History museum
- City
- Fairport Harbor
- Coordinates
- 41.75547, -81.27737
Search Wikipedia ↗ IMLS Museum Data Files (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
The museum list is IMLS's 2018 file; a museum may have closed or moved since.
Source: IMLS Museum Data Files, 2018.
Police stations (1)
-
Fairport Harbor Police DepartmentFairport Harbor
- Address
- 220 3rd Street, Fairport Harbor, OH 44077
- Coordinates
- 41.75543, -81.27595
USGS National Map structures (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: USGS National Map structures, police stations, corrected and completed by hand (September 2026). The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction, not by distance.
Superfund sites (2)
-
Fairport Harbor Hg SpillSuperfund program · Fairport Harbor
- Address
- 170 Feet East of The Intersection Of, Fairport Harbor, OH 44077
- County
- Lake County
- Status
- Superfund program site, not on the National Priorities List
- EPA program ID
- OHN000510820
- EPA registry ID
- 110067350342
EPA facility record ↗ EPA Facility Registry Service (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
New 4Th Street MercurySuperfund program · Fairport Harbor
- Address
- 408 New 4Th Street, Fairport Harbor, OH 44077
- County
- Lake County
- Status
- Superfund program site, not on the National Priorities List
- EPA program ID
- OHN000510366
- EPA registry ID
- 110039389453
EPA facility record ↗ EPA Facility Registry Service (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: EPA Facility Registry Service, Superfund (SEMS) and National Priorities List sites. Many program sites were assessed and needed no cleanup.
Facilities reporting toxic releases (2)
-
Eltech Research CorporationToxics Release Inventory · Fairport Harbor
- Address
- 625 East St, Fairport Harbor, OH 44077
- County
- Lake County
- Status
- Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
- EPA program ID
- 44077LTCHR625EA
- EPA registry ID
- 110000904610
EPA facility record ↗ EPA Facility Registry Service (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Equistar Chemicals, Lp (0243020004)Toxics Release Inventory · Fairport Harbor
- Address
- 110 Third Street, Fairport Harbor, OH 44077
- County
- Lake County
- Status
- Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
- EPA program ID
- 44077QNTMC303HI
- EPA registry ID
- 110000385949
EPA facility record ↗ EPA Facility Registry Service (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: EPA Facility Registry Service, Toxics Release Inventory reporters. Reporting a release is required of large users of listed chemicals; it is not by itself a violation.
Spills reported since 2021 (6)
-
Other / All Other / Trade Name / Mixture / Solution Etc2024-09-02 · Fairport Harbor
- Reported
- 2024-09-02
- What spilled
- Other / All Other / Trade Name / Mixture / Solution Etc
- Where
- Fairport Harbor, Lake County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2409EPA0001507
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Chlorine (Cl) (Gas)2023-09-28 · Fairport Harbor
- Reported
- 2023-09-28
- What spilled
- Chlorine (Cl) (Gas)
- Where
- Fairport Harbor, Lake County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2309EPA0001689
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Chemical(S) Unk2023-09-07 · Fairport Harbor
- Reported
- 2023-09-07
- What spilled
- Chemical(S) Unk
- Where
- Fairport Harbor, Lake County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2309EPA0001568
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Oil Hydraulic Fluid(S) Reached water2023-07-22 · Fairport Harbor
- Reported
- 2023-07-22
- What spilled
- Oil Hydraulic Fluid(S)
- Largest amount reported
- 240 gallons
- Reached a waterway
- Lake Erie
- Where
- Fairport Harbor, Lake County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2307EPA0001240
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Gasoline ( 25% Ethanol Not E85) Reached water2022-06-18 · Fairport Harbor
- Reported
- 2022-06-18
- What spilled
- Fuel Gasoline ( 25% Ethanol Not E85)
- Reached a waterway
- 43 - Lake Erie
- Where
- Fairport Harbor, Lake County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2206EPA0000922
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Gasoline ( 25% Ethanol Not E85) Reached water2021-06-19 · Fairport Harbor
- Reported
- 2021-06-19
- What spilled
- Fuel Gasoline ( 25% Ethanol Not E85)
- Reached a waterway
- 43 - Lake Erie
- Where
- Fairport Harbor, Lake County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2106EPA0000898
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: Ohio EPA emergency response spill reports, 2021 to September 2026, one point per case where Ohio EPA placed it. A report is what the caller or responder recorded; amounts are often blank or estimated.
Its ZIP codes
Each ZIP code that touches Fairport Harbor, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.
| ZIP | Share | Water | Radon | Home value | Schools | Flood |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44077 Painesville | 5% | Lake Erie, drawn through a new 4,000-foot microtunneled intake (completed 2020) extending from the Painesville-area shoreline, replacing the city's older nearshore crib | 3.5 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1978 | Painesville Township Local · 3.5 stars overall | 2.0% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
Local government
Who holds office in Fairport Harbor, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.
Who holds office
| Office | Name | Party | Term ends | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayor | Timothy Manross | Democratic | 2027 | 431 New St. Fairport, OH 44077 |
| Council | Jeffrey P. McKinney II | 2029 | 337 Plum St. Fairport, OH 44077 | |
| Council | Elisabeth Shaver | 2029 | 658 2nd St. #4 Fairport, OH 44077 | |
| Council | Gerald S. Hites | 2029 | 620 2nd St. Fairport, OH 44077 | |
| Council | Verne M. Horton | Democratic | 2029 | 515 Eagle St. Fairport, OH 44077 |
| Council | Anthony F. Bertone | Republican | 2027 | 668 Second St., #4 Fairport, OH 44077 |
| Council | Christina Bacnik | 2027 | 435 New St. Fairport, OH 44077 |
Roster as of 2026-01-23: county board of elections.
Money issues on the ballot since 2023: 4 of 4 passed.
Ballot issues
| Date | Issue | For | Against | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-04 | 13: 13 Fairport Harbor Village Proposed Tax Levy Renewal | 414 | 262 | Passed (61.24% for) |
| 2024-11-05 | 2: 2 Fairport Harbor Village Tax Levy Fire | 931 | 541 | Passed (63.25% for) |
| 2024-11-05 | 3: 3 Fairport Harbor Village Tax Levy Police | 816 | 650 | Passed (55.66% for) |
| 2023-11-07 | 3: Issue 3. Tax Levy (Renewal) Current Expenses - Fairport Harbor Village | 716 | 421 | Passed (62.97% for) |
Elections for office
| Date | Office | Candidates and votes |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-04 | Member of Council | Gerald S. Hites 450, 22.11%; Verne M. Horton 328, 16.12%; Jeff McKinney 420, 20.64%; Stephen Roberts 248, 12.19%; Jim Sferra 187, 9.19%; Elisabeth A. Shaver 402, 19.75% |
| 2023-11-07 | Member of Council | Christina Bacnik 730, 52.11%; Anthony F. Bertone 671, 47.89% |
| 2023-11-07 | Mayor | Timothy S. Manross 927, 100.0% |
| 2021-11-02 | Member of Council | Gerald S. Hites 531, 21.26%; Verne M. Horton 424, 16.97%; Jeffrey P. McKinney, II 537, 21.5%; Frank J. Sarosy 470, 18.82%; Elisabeth Shaver 536, 21.46% |
Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.
Auditor of State record
- No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
- Financial Audit, 2021 to 2022, released 2025-08-05
The county
Lake County: 8 ZIP codes, 23 cities, villages and townships, 232,447 people.
Nearby places
Rain and snow
How much has actually fallen on Fairport Harbor, day by day, from 1893 to now. Daily totals, not averages.
- rain, last 30 days
- 1.41 in
- 2026-09-29 to 2026-10-28
- rain so far in 2026
- 32.1 in
- 1.9 in below normal for the date
- snow so far in 2026
- 36.4 in
- a normal year brings 58.2 in
- a normal year
- 41.0 in
- average of 30 years, 1991-2020
| Month | Rain (in) | Snow (in) | Days counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 1.41 | — | 28 |
| September 2026 | 2.94 | — | 30 |
| August 2026 | 6.63 | — | 31 |
| July 2026 | 2.83 | — | 31 |
| June 2026 | 2.88 | — | 30 |
| May 2026 | 4.03 | — | 31 |
| April 2026 | 4.01 | — | 30 |
| March 2026 | 5.33 | 0.8 | 31 |
| February 2026 | 0.28 | 4.9 | 28 |
| January 2026 | 1.78 | 30.7 | 31 |
| December 2025 | 2.60 | 10.4 | 31 |
| November 2025 | 2.02 | 4.5 | 30 |
| Wettest year | 2011 — 62.7 in |
|---|---|
| Driest year | 1963 — 22.3 in |
| Snowiest year | 1969 — 143.4 in |
| Wettest day on record | 20 July 2013 — 7.03 in |
| Heaviest snowfall in a day | 24 November 1950 — 20.62 in |
| Deepest snow on the ground | 9 March 2008 — 24.96 in |
Estimated, not measured. No rain gauge has ever stood inside Fairport Harbor, so every figure here is worked out from the gauges around it - the nearest ones weighted most. Treat them as close estimates rather than readings.
48,563 days of records, 1893-01-01 to 2026-10-28. Source: NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily, 3,240 gauges in and around Ohio. A day is "gauged" when a gauge standing inside the boundary reported it, and the value is the mean of those gauges. Otherwise it is interpolated by inverse distance from every gauge reporting within 50 miles. Nothing is carried forward, back-filled or smoothed. Against NOAA nClimDiv county monthly precipitation over 136,848 complete county-months (checked 2026-10-31): correlation 0.9515, median absolute difference 0.217 in a month. Built 2026-10-31 from the Cracked Buckeye precipitation archive. Snow is the softer number — snowfall is measured by hand with a ruler, no agency publishes a gridded county snowfall series, and blowing snow defeats every observer.
Environmental permits and filings
What Ohio EPA has on file for Fairport Harbor: permits, inspections, violations, cleanups and the state loans behind sewer and water work. Every line links to the agency's own document.
- facilities and sites on file
- 16
- those placed on the map inside Fairport Harbor
| Program | Facilities and sites |
|---|---|
| Hazardous waste | 5 |
| Site assessment | 2 |
| State sewer loans | 2 |
| Air pollution | 1 |
| Composting | 1 |
| Landfills | 1 |
| Public drinking water | 1 |
| State water loans | 1 |
| Wastewater and stormwater discharge | 1 |
| Wetland and stream fill | 1 |
| Date | Facility or site | What |
|---|---|---|
| FAIRPORT HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water compliance letter | |
| GARY L KRON WATER RECLAMATION FACILITY | State sewer loans | |
| FAIRPORT HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water report | |
| EQUISTAR CHEMICALS LP | Air pollution inspection | |
| GARY L KRON WATER RECLAMATION FACILITY | State sewer loans | |
| GARY L KRON WATER RECLAMATION FACILITY | State sewer loans | |
| FAIRPORT HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water monitoring results | |
| EQUISTAR CHEMICALS LP | Air pollution permit | |
| EQUISTAR CHEMICALS, LP | Air pollution permit | |
| EQUISTAR CHEMICALS LP | Air pollution permit | |
| GARY L KRON WATER RECLAMATION FACILITY | State sewer loans | |
| EQUISTAR CHEMICALS LP | Air pollution permit | |
| VILLAGE OF FAIRPORT HARBOR | Composting registration | |
| FAIRPORT HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water letter | |
| FAIRPORT HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| FAIRPORT HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water plan | |
| FAIRPORT HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water plan | |
| FAIRPORT HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| FAIRPORT HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| FAIRPORT HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water violation resolved | |
| FAIRPORT HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water inspection | |
| FAIRPORT HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water compliance letter | |
| PCN COORDINATION LAKEFRONT PARK METROPARKS | Wetland and stream fill permit | |
| FAIRPORT HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water report | |
| FAIRPORT HARBOR VILLAGE PWS | Public drinking water compliance letter |
Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.
Quick answers
What county is Fairport Harbor, Ohio in?
Fairport Harbor is a village in Lake County, Ohio, with 3,108 residents.
When was Fairport Harbor, Ohio founded?
Fairport Harbor was settled 1796-1797 (Connecticut Land Company claim); laid out May 16, 1812 (as Grandon); incorporated 1836 (as Fairport); renamed Fairport Harbor in 1959. Source
How did Fairport Harbor, Ohio get its name?
The village was platted in 1812 as Grandon, after the Grand River at whose mouth it sits. Source
What ZIP code is Fairport Harbor, Ohio?
Most of Fairport Harbor is in ZIP code 44077.
Where does Fairport Harbor, Ohio get its water?
The main water source for Fairport Harbor (Painesville City): Lake Erie, drawn through a new 4,000-foot microtunneled intake (completed 2020) extending from the Painesville-area shoreline, replacing the city's older nearshore crib.
Cite this page
Cite this page as:
Cracked Buckeye, "Fairport Harbor, Lake County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/fairport-harbor/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].
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