The original section of the historic Fairfax Public School in the city of Fairfax was built in 1873, four years after the ratification of the new state constitution that provided for a statewide system of public schools. The school marked the commitment of Fairfax (then called Providence) to provide free public education to the community’s elementary-level children. Like many rural schools of the period, the brick building had a gable-end front and resembled a country church. The area’s growing population necessitated an expansion of the facility in 1912. The addition, which doubled the school’s size, was a perpendicular attachment to the original section. With its hipped roof and tall paired windows, the addition has the simple dignity typical of schools of the era. The Fairfax Public School building stood vacant from the 1970s, but in the 1990s it was restored to serve as the Fairfax Museum and Visitors’ Center.