Fairland Elementary School

About Fairland

History of Fairland Elementary School

There has been a Fairland School in this immediate area since 1874. Back then, it was a one room school that served the small farming community of Fairland. Located on the crest of a hill, near the present day intersection of Fairland Road and Old Columbia Pike, this one-room structure was built of wood shingles with a stone floor and housed eight grades supervised by one teacher. Since Fairland was a farming community, the number of students varied depending on planting and harvesting. There were as many as 50 students in the winter months.

In 1918, the community had grown enough to warrant building a high school. Fairland High School, a two-story, four classroom structure, was built on the southeast corner of Fairland Road and Old Columbia Pike. Until the new school was completed in 1920, classes were held in the homes of community families. Mr. Maxwell Burdette of Damascus was principal of Fairland from 1919 to 1932. This new building served as a school for children in first to eleventh grades until June of 1932. At that time, grades eight to eleven were discontinued. High school students from this area attended Sherwood or Silver Spring High School until Montgomery Blair replaced Silver Spring High School in 1934. Fairland School at that time added a modern all-purpose room and two classrooms.

As the Fairland community continued to grow, classes were doubling up in basement rooms whose floors flooded in the Spring. Four more classes were added in 1952 and in 1960, an all-purpose room and a kitchen were added. In 1963, nine classrooms were added. In 1970, eight new classrooms and a library were added. This was the last addition to the old building before in was replaced. It is presently being used as a holding school for schools under renovation. The Fairland Elementary School is located at 14315 Fairdale Road, just off of Briggs Chaney Road -- about a mile away from the previous location. Feel free to give the school a call at 240-740-0640 if you would like to arrange a visit.