Sanford began as a community post office established on May 19, 1879. Around the turn of the century, the town entered a period of progress that lasted several years. The L&N Railroad came through in 1901 on its way to Graceville, Florida, and in 1902 the Henderson-Waits Lumber Company began operations with a huge lumber mill. At that time, other businesses included Woodham and Langston, S.D. Wiggins and Son, Jenkins Company, W.D. Day, and a large commissary run by the lumber company. Sanford was incorporated in 1902. The original Sanford School was a two-story wood frame building that stood a short distance from this site, but it burned in 1929. A new five-room building was constructed there in 1930, with Lon Cobb and Bob Wiggins securing the notes for materials and local people donating the labor, while John J. Wilson Sr. served as principal. An auditorium was added in 1932, three more classrooms in 1935, and a cafeteria in 1947 through the efforts of the Sanford P.T.A. The school building was torn down in 1984, when construction began on the Sanford Town Hall/Sanford Volunteer Fire Department building.