Fairfield Historic District

Fairfield is a small market town of brick, stone and frame buildings laid out on a main street and cross-street grid in Adams County, Pennsylvania. Its centre was built around the 1797 stone manor house of John Miller, and most of the historic buildings date from the late 18th century through the first half of the 19th century, with Greek Revival forms and later Italianate and Gothic detailing. In the summer of 1863 the town was occupied by Confederate forces during the Gettysburg campaign. Wounded Union cavalrymen were cared for in local homes after a skirmish on July 3, and a Confederate field hospital was set up on the nearby Daniel Musselman farm. The town was then the collection point for the Confederate retreat on July 4 and 5. The surviving streetscape, farm setting and buildings associated with the wounded and the retreat are the basis for listing.