OUR SCHOOL - ITS NAME AND ORIGIN
Our school building is named for a distinguished resident of Fairfield who served the People of Connecticut. Gideon Tomlinson was born in 1780 in Stratford and received his early education there. Following his graduation from Yale in 1802, he practiced law in Fairfield. He became interested in politics and was elected to the State House of Representatives where he was elected Speaker of the House in 1818. In the following year, he was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives where he served often as Speaker of the House.
He became the twenty-fifth governor of Connecticut in 1827. As governor, he was a champion for the improvement of education and repeatedly called for financial assistance to education. He closed his political career as U. S. Senator, from 1831-1837.
During his residency in Fairfield, he lived on Bronson Road in Greenfield Hill, just south of the Church.
He died in 1854 and was buried in the Old Congregational Cemetery.
The land upon which Tomlinson stands was donated to the town by Miss Annie Burr Jennings, whose house stood on the site. The house was replaced In 1925 by the main section of the building, which became Fairfield High School. It was added to several times to include the auditorium and renamed Roger Ludlowe High School.
Tomlinson Junior High School came into existence in 1963. A major renovation and the addition of the gym area were completed in 1980. With the beginning of the school year in 1984, the sixth grades from several of the surrounding schools were added to the school and it became known as Tomlinson Middle School.
