About Us
History of Fair Lawn
Fair Lawn was incorporated as a Borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 6, 1924, as “Fairlawn”, from portions of Saddle River Township. The name was taken from Fairlawn, David Acker’s estate home, that was built in 1865 and later became the Fair Lawn Municipal Building. In 1933, the official spelling of the borough’s name was split into its present two-word form as “Fair Lawn” Borough.
Today, Fair Lawn is home to over 30,000 residents as well as hundreds of businesses and organizations. In a study from WalletHub that examined affordability, local economies, education, health, safety, and other quality of life factors, such as the average commute times and the number of restaurants & bars per capita, Fair Lawn was ranked as one of the “Best Small Cities In America.” More than 1300 cities with populations of 25,000 to 100,000 were considered for the study. Fair Lawn was ranked 24th overall. Additionally, Fair Lawn was ranked as one of the country’s safest small cities as well ranked near the top for education and health.
Fair Lawn Marketplace, Main Street, and FLEDC
In 2021, the Fair Lawn Economic Development Corporation (now Fair Lawn Main Street Inc.) embarked on a mission to create a complete digital marketplace. The Fair Lawn Marketplace aimed to contain digital listings of over 600 shops, businesses, and other organizations located in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. The completion of the marketplace coincided with the Borough of Fair Lawn, through the Fair Lawn Economic Development Corporation, receiving its Main Street NJ designation from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. The Main Street New Jersey Program was established in 1989 to encourage and support the revitalization of downtowns throughout the state. Every two years the NJ Department of Community Affairs accepts applications and designates selected communities to join the program. These communities receive valuable technical support and training to assist in restoring their Main Streets as centers of community and economic activity. Through the designation, Main Street empowers Fair Lawn and its diverse business community. The Fair Lawn Marketplace works to support the mission of locally-owned/locally-driven prosperity.