Around 1872-73, after the original Ferndale schoolhouse near Allen and West Nine Mile Roads was destroyed by fire, Andrew C. Porter donated land at the southeast corner of Woodward and Nine Mile Road for Porter School. The typical 1870s schoolhouse had separate entrances for boys and girls, an outdoor drinking water well and pump, and an outhouse. In the early 1900s, as more families moved to the area, especially because of auto employment in nearby Highland Park, a larger school building was needed. In 1914, the district built two identical schools, one on the Porter School site and another near Ridge Road, while the old Porter School building was moved to the future site of Lincoln High School on West Nine Mile Road for reuse as classrooms and, after 1918, as the village hall. On December 28, 1914, the new school at Nine Mile and Woodward burned to the ground, and the district quickly built the present brick building, constructed by Overland Construction Company, where the first classes were held in the fall of 1915. Originally named Ferndale School and later called Central School, it faced Woodward Avenue with a tree-filled park between the building and the street and also served as a community meeting space, including gatherings that led to Ferndale becoming a village in 1918. In the late 1920s, the district moved its administrative offices into the building and remodeled it to move the entrance to East Nine Mile Road. It no longer fronted Woodward Avenue after the widening in 1923 and the construction of the C.H. Harrison Building in 1929, now known as the Ferndale Center Building. In 1930, the first library was located in the building with 2,000 volumes; it was remodeled again in 1940, and by 1943 the library contained over 15,000 books. The library moved to a new building just east in 1954, and the school building was later converted to offices. In 2008, Foley and Mansfield renovated the historic building, restoring much of its original grace and adding an additional 7,000 square feet on the east side in keeping with State Historic Preservation building practices. That renovation, along with construction the same year of 211 East Nine Mile, the first loft-style mixed-use living and commercial space on the nearby property, contributed to the revitalization of East Nine Mile.