Named for the abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass and built to serve local black students, the brick school replaced a predecessor of 1930 which burned in 1939. A plaque on the main façade of the gable-front auditorium identifies the school as a Public Works Administration project. Initially including both primary and secondary grades, the school was eventually converted to an elementary school. The auditorium and wings still stand, and there is a large new elementary school south of the historic building.