FMSD History

Many local residents recall attending Fort Mill Grammar School, which was later called Carothers School. It initially housed grades one through 11. Students graduated at the end of 11th grade in those days.

If the old book is true, if all one really needs to know is learned in kindergarten, then Gloria Gainey celebrated more than a birthday on Wednesday. She celebrated generations of Fort Mill children turning adults, who know plenty due to her.

The newly created Hall of Fame honors graduates of the Fort Mill School District and other people who have made significant contributions to the betterment of their communities, the school district, their states or the nation, said school board Chairman Patrick White.

Five new members have been added to the Fort Mill school district’s Hall of Fame. Established in 2016, the Hall of Fame honors Fort mill graduates and community members who have made significant contributions to the district, state or nation, a release states.

John Sanders III still recalls the classrooms on the outer edge of the school, the large windows where passers by on Steele Street could see the early-grade students at George Fish School. “Where the sun is rising,” Sanders said, “you get all the light.”

Times were different when the George Fish School band played, but a familiar beat still courses through the people who heard it. Due almost entirely to one man.

Fort Mill schools garner plenty of attention. Now, town and school officials want to honor a school that hasn’t held class for decades, but one with lasting impact.

This was the site of Fort Mill's longest operating school dedicated to African Americans. Built on a 4-acre parcel acquired in 1925, the brick school opened in 1926 and cost $12,200, a portion of which was paid by the Julius Rosenwald Fund. 

The George Fish School operated from 1926 through 1968 and served Black students until the end of segregation, which was when it became Fort Mill Junior High School.