Fairborn

About Fairborn

Fairborn exists because of a merger: in 1950 the villages of Fairfield and Osborn joined, borrowed a syllable from each, and became a city that grew up beside Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Aviation is part of its identity. On a hill east of town, the Wright Brothers Memorial looks over Huffman Prairie, the cow pasture where Wilbur and Orville taught themselves to fly a practical airplane in 1904 and 1905.

The compact downtown along Main and Broad Streets is best known for Foy's, a family business whose Halloween and costume shops spill over with giant skeletons and props, making Fairborn a self-styled Halloween capital each October. Wright State University and its Nutter Center arena sit on the city's southern edge and bring concerts, college basketball and a steady student crowd.

Nature is close at hand. Oakes Quarry Park lets visitors explore an old limestone quarry known for its fossils and stark rock terraces, and Huffman MetroPark follows the Mad River near the historic flying field. Dayton is about 15 minutes southwest.