The Fairbanks School District - Union Township Roots

It is estimated that the first school taught in Union Township was as early as 1806 in the Reed Settlement on present-day Orchard Road near the Woods-Reed Cemetery. This early school, like many other early schools was a subscription-based school. Eventually a log one room school house was erected in the Reed Settlement. Early teachers of the Reed School included David Chapman, Jeptha Peasely, Ralph Phelps and Thomas Cratty. Another early school was in the Green Settlement on the Post Road. This school was taught by Nehemiah Sabine in 1814. Unfortunately, Mr. Sabine died in mid-term, and his son, Hiram, finished the school term. As the population of the township grew, the schools became free. The Green Settlement school was the first free school in the township. By 1826, the population of the township had grown to a point that is became neccessary to officially divide the area into subdistricts. Ten schools were formed. At one time there were as many as eleven one room school subdistricts in Union Township.

The older Milford Center School building pictured at the beginning of this article was built between 1880 and 1881. A school was built in Irwin in 1880. This school was replaced in 1903 by the school pictured above. A new school house was built in Milford Center in 1915. By 1937, the Union Township schools, now called Union Rural School, had been consolidated to include just the Irwin School and the Milford Center School. At this time, the Irwin School enrolled students in only grades 1-8. The Milford Center School housed students in grades 1-12. The Irwin School was closed in the spring of 1943. However, the some members of the community attempted to keep the Irwin School open by bringing suit against the township. But, the Union County Common Please Court, presided over by Judge Richard Cameron, ruled in favor of the Union Rural School district. In 1961, the Darby Rural School district, centralized at Unionville Center, and the Union Rural School district, centralized at Milford Center, was consolidated to form the Faribanks Local School District. The Milford Center School then used as a 1-8 grade building and later as a1-3 grade elementary school. The high school for the Fairbanks Local School district was built at Bridgeport, just over the township line in Darby Township. The Milford Center School was demolished in 2010.