The first community building was the Holy Trinity Anglican Church School, which was built on the Merrawarp Estate in 1847.

The Victorian Heritage Register describes it as "the earliest known school building in the Geelong region".

The school, vicarage, and the second Anglican church survive, and are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

[10] A Presbyterian denominational school, located on Barrabool Road, opened on 19 May 1858 on part of the former "Strathlachlan" estate.

[11] A Bible Christian Church was established at the corner of Polleys and Balanclea Roads in the 1850s, with the foundation stone laid on 17 November 1856.

Wynd reports a Wesleyan church and school were also existent in the 1850s, further west on Polleys Road.

[14] The Surf Coast Shire heritage overlay protects eleven surviving buildings in Barrabool with heritage value: the Holy Trinity Anglican Church School, Holy Trinity Anglican Church and Parsonage and the Neuchatel property, which are also listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, the "Ballanclea", "Tasman", "Foymount", "Berramongo", and "Merrawarp" homesteads, Wescott's Stable, the Barrabool Presbyterian Church, and the "Stanbury" barn.

[19] The McAdam Park motocross race track was located at Barrabool from 1962 until 2015, when it closed after a community campaign by the Barrabool Rural Protection Group against the facility and a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision blocking its redevelopment.