The school was named for island pioneer Tommie Camilla Barfield, who was appointed the first principal and superintendent of schools in Collier County. She was born in 1888 and came to Marco Island with her family in 1901.

The Stephens family eventually purchased a house from James Madison Barfield, who became her husband in 1906. In 1910, the Barfield couple turned their home into a small hotel, the Heights Hotel. Mrs. Barfield lobbied Lee County Commissioners in Fort Myers for schools, better roads and amenities lacking on Marco Island and was a positive force for the community before women had the right to vote.

At one commission meeting, she met Barron Gift Collier and together they worked for the creation of Collier County, which occurred on May 8, 1923. Her concern for schools and teachers led Governor Cary Hardee to appoint her as first superintendent (of public instruction) of Collier County Schools. She served as superintendent for two years and remained on the school board for the next 20 years to help direct the education policy of the new county.

In 2000, Secretary of State Sandra Mortham recognized Tommie Barfield as a "Great Floridian" and presented a plaque to the Tommie Barfield Elementary School, located at 101 Kirkwood Street.

The elementary school has been an "A" school for the past five years.
"The school has a great reputation, and when the community has that kind of confidence in you, they know that their children are being educated very well," said current school principal Jory Westberry.

Historically, there have been schools on Marco Island since the early days. Before the turn of the century, there were schools on record at Fakahatchee Bay, in Chokoloskee, in Everglade City at the Storter home, on Henderson Creek at Belle Meade and on Pig Key in Barfield Bay.

The school at Pig Key was centrally located for the villages of Caxambas, Marco and Goodland. The schoolhouse was a small wooden building with one room, and one teacher for approximately 15 children. One of Samuel Pettit's sons rowed to and from the school on Pig Key from Goodland Point in 1895.
Caxambas had a schoolhouse by 1892. Earlier schools were makeshift - a thatched hut, a tin shed cleared out for a year or two or the kitchen of someone's home. They moved around frequently wherever seven children could be gathered together.

By 1904, schools were recorded in Caxambas, Old Marco, Naples, Everglades City and Chokoloskee. Ruth Neil, a teacher in Everglades City, found the students to be better than expected for a small young community. It seems that most of the children had educated parents who worked for Barron Collier. Everglades became the county seat in 1923.

Marco Island had a schoolhouse in the 1920's. Teacher Mary Samuel wrote about her experiences in the publication "Tequesta" by Charlton Tebeau.
Scripps School, also called Collier City School, was the first consolidated school on the island opening in 1928. School children from the three communities - Marco, Caxambas and Goodland Point - were bused to the school located on the old Ludlow home place high on the hill. It was built on land donated by the Scripps family. Most but not all of the teachers boarded at the Barfield House in Caxambas.

The Heath's and their son lived there for 13 years. Mr. Heath was principal and taught high school-age students while Mrs. Heath taught in the lower grades. Other teachers living in Caxambas were Mrs. Ernest Otter and Mrs. Cora Leo. Mrs. Caroline Kipp Robinson, a teacher at Scripps school, lived in Marco with her family and rode the bus to school with the children. Scripp School closed in 1956, the same year that Tommie Barfield Elementary School opened.

In the spring of 2007, Tommie Barfield Elementary School is planning a special celebration to recognize their 50th anniversary.