Fairfax, on State Highway 18 south of Ponca City, was founded in 1903 in the southwestern section of the Osage Indian Reservation, now known as Osage County.  It was started when the Santa Fe Railway came through this section and a group of traders saw the advantage of having their town on a railroad.  Fairfax offers small-town living, but both Ponca City and Pawhuska are within easy reach.

There are many historic buildings still standing in Fairfax, many of which are on both the Oklahoma, and the Nationl Historic Registers. These include the old Jackson Insurance Building, now the Flowers and Things; the Woodland High School Auditorium; Osage County shop building; Fairfax City Hall, and the former First State Bank building.  The Tallchief Theatre is also being refurbished at this time.

Fairfax offers a beautiful five-acre city park with lots of trees for shade, and a boating facility on the lake. There is another city park in town, and also a nine-hole golf course.

Maria Tallchief, universally recognized as America's first great prima ballerina, was born in Fairfax, Oklahoma, of Scotch, Irish, and American Indian descent. Maria and Marjorie (also a noted ballerina) Tallchief were raised on the Osage Reservation in a10-room terra-cotta brick home. The Tallchief home and several buildings built by the Alexander Joseph Tallchief (including the local theatre) still stand today.