Rogers School (1885)

100 Pleasant St. at corner of Center St.

The first gift of Henry H. Rogers, this elementary school is the town’s oldest public school building still in use. Built at a time when greater interest in education was sweeping the country, the school incorporated the best features in schoolhouse design, including a spacious auditorium on the third floor. Originally the building had living quarters for the custodian, assuring security and the uninterrupted operation of the furnace on cold winter nights.

When the building’s exterior brick began to discolor just five years after the school’s construction, Rogers had all the brick removed and replaced. Fairhaven did not have electric service when the school was built. It was wired for lights in 1890. Today, with an addition and two portable classrooms added to the rear, the building is still used as an elementary school.