advertised it as the "Poorest Hotel in Illinois." After the fire caused by the train, three more subsequent fires succeeded in destroying many parts of the town. All of them were around the railroad, and together they destroyed more than twenty buildings and houses. Additionally, every few nights someone would try to start a fire in a residential area, and sometimes succeeded. Fairbury had somehow managed to become a prime location for pyromaniacs. Whenever a fire would erupt, the town's fire bell rang. Currently, the bell can be found in front of the fire station on Locust Street. A fire was more of a festival than a tragedy because it seemed like whenever the bell rang, the whole town would show up to watch the fire. Fairbury wasn't necessarily large at the time, so finding the fires was not too difficult. Soon, Fairbury became known as the most flammable town in the Midwest. The fire era of Fairbury came to an end after the Livingston Hotel burned. Marsh blamed Amsbary for the fire, and Amsbary blamed Marsh. Both of the men filed suits against each other for arson, and then for slander. Marsh was indicted, but was found not guilty. The power that the two men held in the town quickly died down, as did the feud between the east and west sides of Fairbury. The town ceased its civil quarrel, and agreed to work with each other instead of against each other. With that, Fairbury was to become just another small town along the Toledo, Peoria, and Western Railroad. It was in this very town that a resident and restaurant owner named Ronald McDonald was in a 26-year legal battle with McDonald's over the name of his restaurant. He ultimately prevailed and continued using his name on his restaurant despite objections by the franchise. Geography Fairbury is located at . According to the 2010 census, Fairbury has a total area of , all land. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 3,968 people, 1,544 households, and 1,053 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,623 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.80% White, 0.40% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 1.66% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.60% of the population.