The papers document John B. Fairbank's activities as a soldier during the Civil War and as a lawyer in Deadwood, South Dakota, and also the social and financial activities of several family members (his sisters, particularly Susan F. Fairbank and Maria T. F. Rugg, his parents, Lurana Robinson Fairbank and James C. Fairbank, and others), spanning a period of slightly more than a century. The box includes photocopies of oversize documents and cross-references to the originals, which are stored separately.

This collection is organized into five series:

• 1. JOHN B. FAIRBANK (AC 1867), 1864-1909
• 2. FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE, 1817-1920
• 3. FINANCIAL RECORDS, 1832-1922
• 4. DEATHS
• 5. CLIPPINGS