In 1892, William Edward Geoffrey, an African American man from Darlington, South Carolina, came to work on the Florida East Coast Railroad in Gifford. The town's first school was built in 1898, but it only served white children. In 1901, Geoffrey purchased eighty acres of land in Gifford and donated a portion for a park and for the construction of a black school. Named the Gifford School, the small building stood at 38th Lane, east of what is now US Highway 1, and originally taught students in first through sixth grades. Older students had to travel to Fort Pierce to attend high school. In 1938, the Gifford School expanded to include a high school. In 1952, the Indian River County Board funded construction of a new high school building at 45th Street and 28th Court. After Indian River County schools were integrated in 1969, Gifford High School graduated its last class and became a middle school. Its original facade, now part of the Gifford Middle School campus, and a sundial presented as a graduation gift by the Class of 1964 are the last material remnants of the original Gifford High School.