city, seat (1858) of Solano county, north-central California, U.S. Adjoining Suisun City to the south, Fairfield is located 45 miles (70 km) northeast of San Francisco. The area, which lies between the foothills of the Coast Ranges and Suisun Bay, was inhabited by Suisun (Patwin) Indians, who were attacked by Spaniards in 1810. In the 1830s the Mexican governor gave local Indians a land grant known as Suisun Rancho. The settlement fared poorly, however, and the grant was sold. Fairfield was founded in 1856 by Robert Waterman, a clipper-ship captain who had bought the grant in 1850 and named the city for his hometown in Connecticut. Development was spurred during World War II when the U.S. Air Force established Travis Air Force Base east of the city. The construction of Monticello Dam (1957), 15 miles (25 km) to the north, furnished water for the irrigation of tens of thousands of acres and boosted traditional crop production (fruits, cereals) and livestock raising. Also important are wineries, beer production (the Anheuser-Busch brewery is also a popular tourist destination), and the manufacture of small boats, explosives, and textiles. The city is the site of a community college established in 1945. Inc. city, 1903. Pop. (1990) city, 77,211; Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa PMSA, 451,186; (2000) city, 96,178; Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa PMSA, 518,821.
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