Fairfield Schoolhouse - Fairfield, Utah
Posted by: 
Lord Mot
N 40° 15.687 W 112° 05.455
12T E 407234 N 4457347
A monument to Utah's Education History
Waymark Code: WMB6QK
Location: Utah, United States
Date Posted: 04/12/2011
Views: 8
The Fairfield District School was built in 1898, replacing Fairfield's original adobe school built in 1870. Richard C. Watson, the school's architect, also designed the Peteetneet School in Payson, Maeser School, and the Knight Block Building in Provo.
Ethel Warnick Mecham, who taught at the school in 1925, recalled there were about 20 children attending classes. "The kids loved stories and singing songs, " she said. "at recess they played Rounders and the boys liked to wrestle."
The school was forced to close in 1939 despite the efforts of the Fairfield parents, students and teachers to keep it open. Restoration of the schoolhouse was completed in 2005.
Today, the schoolhouse plays an important part in the education mission of Camp Floyd/Stagecoach Inn State Park and Museum. It is used for special gatherings, educational programs and local meetings.
Modern-day schoolchildren can stepping back in time and go to school in the early 19th century in a one-room schoolhouse on the frontier as the 1898 Fairfield Schoolhouse opens for daylong visits.
The school has already been available for short visits included in tours of the Camp Floyd/Stagecoach Inn State Park but will officially expand after the April 16 open house event.
The restored Victorian building, which marks the center of town, has new restrooms, indoor plumbing, new paint and drapes. Replicas of the original ironwork-and-wood desks sit waiting for students who will work on chalk slates, write with quill pens and read from the McGuffey primers.
The bell that called students to class in the 1920s rings again.
Students in the elementary grades from all over the state are invited, but the curriculum lends itself best to those studying Utah history in the fourth grade.
It costs $50 a day to rent the school from approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Those school groups who make the trip will follow the daily schedule as it was in 1890.
Once the teacher rings the bell, boys are to line up on one side of the walk and girls on the other. The boys bow and the girls curtsey before they march in.
Inside, they are to stand up to speak, enunciate their words and put their hands together in front of their chest to encourage proper breathing from the diaphragm.
They'll study arithmetic, reading and writing, using their slates to work out a problem or to practice their letters.
Their teachers will dress in costuming provided: long gingham dresses for the women; suspenders, muslin shirts, pants and boots for the men.
The schoolhouse is also available for wedding receptions, meetings and other civic events.
Original or Re-creation?: Original
Is the schoolhouse still open as a school?: no
Address:
17970 w. 1600 n.
Fairfield , Utah
84013
Does the school offer 19th century classroom reenactments or day camps?: yes
Year the school first opened.: Not listed
Year the school closed.: Not listed
Web Address (if available): Not listed
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