FAIRVIEW — Past miles of rolling farmland and roads that wind through the woods north of Route 68 is a town spanning less than one-tenth of a square mile where Bernard Michael has spent a majority of his life.

Among the 70 houses of varying shapes and sizes is a cemetery, a baseball field, a small playground, a basketball court and a few churches. Google Maps doesn’t even have street view photos of the roads that make up the borough.

Michael, now 84 years old, was born in Fairview, and lives with his wife, Peggy Michael, in a house next to the one built by his grandfather in the late 1800s.

While the borough doesn’t encompass much area, its size is one of the main perks of living in Fairview, Michael said.

“We have two acres of land out here, you have space to do anything you want,” he said. “You can take a walk at night and not have to worry.”

Fairview was incorporated as a borough in 1867, branching out from Fairview Township.

According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Fairview has a population of 180 in 76 households in 72 housing units, making it among the smallest populations in Butler County, behind Cherry Valley, Petrolia and Karns City. It also occupies only 0.11 square mile, tied with West Sunbury for the smallest in area.

Jeff Shumaker has been president of borough council for more than 30 years, having also grown up in Fairview. He said the population has been in steady decline, with people moving out and some older residents dying.

“When I was a kid, you knew everyone in town,” Shumaker said. “Now it’s different; you know maybe half of the people.”

People have moved to the borough in recent years, but Shumaker said he wonders what the future holds.

About four years ago, the borough council went from seven seats to three, when several members exited their seats in close proximity. A judge had to appoint a mayor and two council members to the board March 1, after an election where candidates could not garner enough votes, or even signatures, to get on the ballot.

Although he had been mayor of Fairview for a four-year term and he ran for a second unopposed, Earl Everetts couldn’t grab the position once again in the 2021 municipal election.

Everetts became mayor in 2017 shortly after moving to the borough, but couldn’t even get on the ballot for reelection, because just getting enough signatures to file to run is difficult in a borough of 180.

Everetts was reappointed as mayor, but he said the dwindling participation in the borough could become an issue.

“I was going to step down and be on council because being mayor you can't really make a decision,” Everetts said. “It's hard getting help to run. We can hardly get anybody at meetings.”

Low governmental engagement also has Shumaker uncertain about long-term plans and projects in Fairview.

“What’s going to happen, I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know what happens when no one sits on council, if the county comes in or what. If you come to a meeting and don’t have a quorum, you can’t do anything.”

According to Shumaker, borough council takes a vote on any action involving costs in the borough because the operating budget is pretty tight, coming in at around $40,000 this year.

“They don’t get a lot of taxes because everybody’s retired,” Michael said.

Shumaker said the general fund fell to about $6,000 a few years ago — a low point in the borough. While the borough was paid by a company that once planned to drill on its land, Shumaker said the recurring maintenance required in the area is a constant financial concern.

“We were in dire straits some time ago. Our winter maintenance was killing us,” Shumaker said. “I'm in charge of the roads, and I take a look at those every year. We have about a mile we have to take care of.”

Shumaker said the tax rate is about half a percentage lower than in Fairview Township. The council has to work efficiently with its small budget to stretch its money to accomplish as much as possible.

Everetts said one of the focuses of the council has been cleaning up yard junk, which has been a slow process.

“When we need to do a project, we just divide it up,” Everetts said. “I'm going to try to keep rebuilding the town, try to get it up to standards. We're getting there slowly.”

Other larger projects in Fairview happen one at a time. Shumaker said the council recently hired a code enforcement agency from Grove City to help handle ordinance violations, because otherwise the borough had no one to enforce standards. A few years ago, the borough had a new sewage system installed, the implementation of which is one reason Shumaker said he wanted to join council in the first place.

Shumaker also said the borough a found less-expensive winter maintenance company, and council takes projects “a little bit at a time” in order to keep the general fund steady.

“Things are looking OK for us right now,” Shumaker said. “As long as we are financially viable we’ll keep things going.”

With no business storefronts in the borough, the residents of Fairview are used to driving.

Shumaker said people drive about a mile and a half to Petrolia, or a little farther to Bruin, to buy food, but many make the 15-mile trek to Butler if they want to stock up on groceries.

Fairview residents travel for work as well. Shumaker, his father, Everetts and Michael all worked at Sonneborn in Petrolia for a time, and Shumaker said it is one of the biggest employers of people throughout northeastern Butler County.

For recreation, the borough has a baseball field, sometimes used by students and teams from the Karns City Area School District.

Shumaker said small-town life comes with a lot of tranquility.

“You can’t (complain) if you don’t get involved,” Shumaker said. “You make your own decisions and you know most of the people. You don't have the red tape of a bigger city. There's not a lot of crime.”

Michael also said he couldn’t live in a city even the size of Butler, because the country acreage provides much room for personal activities.

Peggy Michael said the municipal building used to have dances for young people. While the activity has died down in the area, she and her husband enjoy the quiet country life.

“We still love it here,” she said.