In 1878, Fairmount was described as a "town [...] beautifully situated on the level plateau of prairie separating the Des Moines and Skunk rivers. [...] There are fifteen or twenty buildings in Fairmount, and four or five business houses."[2] In addition, Fairmount had a Methodist Episcopal church, built in 1878, and a rail station on the Keokuk and Des Moines Railway.[2]
The Fairmount post office opened in 1876 and closed in 1918.[3]
The population of Fairmount was 50 in 1887,[4] and was 108 in 1902.[5] The population was 31 in 1917,[6] and 45 in 1925.[7]