The History of Fairdale High School
Fairdale (population approximately 150) is located in far north-central Illinois in the northwestern portion of Dekalb
County. Illinois Route 72 passes by the northern edge of town. The Soo Line Railroad passes by the south edge
of town. Fairdale is approximately 3 blocks wide (east to west) and 4 blocks long (north to south). Fairdale
sits about 10 miles southeast of the southern portion of the city of Rockford.
We only know that Fairdale is an unincorporated village. According to Wikepedia (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairdale,_Illinois), the town was established at least as far back as 1875 possibly further. Names previously given to the town
included Hicks Mills and Fielding.
A brief history of the town and high school was sent to us by Dana Woodard:
"The town was layed out by Henry Koch in 1875 with name Fielding, but the post name was Wallace
(one of Henry Koch's sons). There was much confusion when addressing the town, so on Jan. 1, 1896, both the town and the post
office names were changed to Fairdale.
The town's old school house was made of wood and was torn down after the new school was built. 1924 was the first
year that four-year high school diplomas were granted. Prior to 1924 classes stopped at the 10th grade. If you wanted to complete
high school prior to 1924, you had to go out of town. Usually this meant Rockford."
Fairdale High School served the kids of the area through the 1940s. It was in 1945 that the Fairdale
School District was closed. The children of Fairdale now attend school at nearby Kirkland as part of the Hiawatha School
District.
Fairdale High School Quick Facts
Year 2-year HS opened: early 1900s
Year 4-year HS opened: 1924
Year HS closed: 1945
Consolidated to:
Hiawatha School District (Kirkland)
Fairdale HS team nickname: unavailable
Fairdale HS team colors: unavailable
School Fight Song:
unavailable
