Frank H. Beard School was one of the last late 19th-century public schools in Detroit and one of the least altered.

Previous to 1885, much of southwest Detroit was part of Springwells Township and many of the children residing there attended either the Amos or Bellefontaine schools. In 1885, part of Springwells was annexed to Detroit, this section including the Amos and Bellefontaine schools. This necessitated the building of another elementary school in Springwells Township.

On Aug. 21, 1886, the School District No. 1 of the Township of Springwells accepted the James F. and May B. Joy's price of $2,000 for the future site of this school. Pupils in the present school district attended classes in a store on Fort Street until September 1886, when a four-room school was built on the site at Waterman near Fort Street. This school was originally called Garfield School in honor of late President James A. Garfield.

In 1895, the four-room building became so overcrowded that it was declared unsafe. In the spring of 1896, the original school was torn down and replaced with a twelve room, two-story brick building in the fall. During the period of construction classes were held in a hotel at Fort Street and Rademacher. An addition was built in 1900 making 14 rooms in all with a capacity of 670 students, at a total cost of $46,000.

Detroit annexed the rest of Springwells Township in 1906. The Detroit Board of Education then found that there were two Garfield Schools. Because of Frank H. Beard's involvement with the school and contribution to education in Springwells Township, the name was changed from Garfield School to Frank H. Beard School in 1906.

The building was vacated in 2016 and lost to a fire in 2022.