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.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia