By Scott Shephard

My wife Deb has an ongoing project that she calls "Dots on the Map." Her goal is to visit every city that shows up on the official highway map of South Dakota. So far she has visited 161 cities, which she says is just over the halfway point of her project.

So that's what brought us to Fairburn, SD, one of my favorite "Dots on the Map." In case you didn't know, Fairburn is just south of Hermosa, SD, a couple miles east of Highway 79 and along the eastern edge of the Black Hills. What I like about Fairurn is that it is set perfectly into a valley which was shaped over the eons by French Creek. Fairburn's population was 85 in the 2010 census. There are no stores or restaurants in this little city but there is a post office, which has been in business since 1887.

The road that you see exiting the photo towards the bottom left leads to the Fairburn agate beds, 12 miles to the east. South Dakota's state gemstone is the beautiful Fairburn agate. Yes, Fairburn has a famous rock named after it. Can you say that about your city?

Here's one of the many variations of the Fairburn agate (photo from Flickr):

And here's the Fairburn Cemetery, which sits high on a bluff to the east of the city and area it serves: