Harrington Elementary School was among the first wave of public schools built in Utah after an 1880 educational reform. Local legislator Leonard Harrington, for whom the school was named, influenced changes in Utah’s educational system by sponsoring a bill in the territorial legislature that gave communities the right to support free public schools through taxation. In American Fork, Harrington School survives as the oldest and most significant example of educational architecture and as one of the few remaining buildings of its kind in Utah. Built in 1903 with a matching addition added to the north in 1934, the school is a fine example of the Victorian Romanesque style that dominated educational architecture in Utah around the turn of the century. Its characteristics include round arched doorways, entryways, and windows, rough-faced brick accents, and a rough stone foundation. Original interior features include wainscoting, stairways, blackboards, paneled doors, and maple floors. The architect for the 1903 section was probably Richard C. Watkins, State Architect of Schools, who is credited with designing dozens of schools throughout Utah. The 1934 addition, designed by Provo architect Joseph Nelson, was supported by New Deal program funds and constructed by Chipman Mercantile, a local firm.