Written by Clay Riley – Education came to Brown County with the first settlers, and for more than eighty years Brownwood has been recognized as an educational center for Central West Texas. The first schools were short and irregular, due to the conditions existing at that time, but by the late seventies the county’s educational program was functioning well, and the groundwork was laid upon which the present countywide system of independent districts and large consolidated rural schools, with the two standard colleges in Brownwood, is thoroughly established.
In the beginning the teachers of the county’s schools were volunteers, serving without pay in most instances. There were few textbooks of any kind, wooden boards were used as slates and bits of charcoal for pencils. All-day sessions were held in log cabins with dirt floors. Light and ventilation were bad in these crude structures. Pupils brought guns to school with them, and upon more than one occasion used their weapons to frighten away small bands of Indians. Benches were made of split logs, and had no backs.
An incident was related by Mrs. Josephine Wooldridge a few years ago, illustrating the difficulties under which the early-day schools were conducted. Mrs. Wooldridge said that when she was 12 years old and her brother Tom was 16, they were attending school in the Trickham Community. They were children of J. R. Rushing, who settled in the Thrifty neighborhood of Brown County in 1861. One day, Mrs. Wooldridge recalled, the pupils looked out the window and saw a large party of Indians approaching. “Everybody was scared, but Tom grab bed a couple of six-shooters and went outside, and I went after him. He took his six-shooters and began blazing away at those Indians. Some men working on the stone walls of the Chisholm store building, not far away, tumbled down inside the wails. The Indians were surprised, or scared, and wheeled around and left in a hurry. I was sure enough scared because my hair was in two long black braids, and I knew if the Indians got me they would drag me away by my hair.” The same gang of Indians, she added, had killed her cousin, Jake Dofflemeyer, whose body was found three or four days later, buried in a shallow grave.
Judge Greenleaf Fisk was one of the first teachers of the county. All though he was a large land owner and had many affairs to command his attention, he volunteered to teach a group in 1860. Levi W. Goodrich and A. J. Gallop were other teachers of that period. Gallop was a lawyer, but found a greater demand for his services as a teacher than as an attorney.
Four communities, in addition to Brownwood, had regularly organized schools prior to 1876. These were the Lone Oak school near Blanket, the Moore school several miles south of Lone Oak, the Thrifty school on Jim Ned Creek North of Brownwood, and the Byrd’s Store school still farther North.
In 1871 there were 189 scholastics reported for the county, according to Professor Havins, who examined the state records at Austin. The state that year apportioned $1,336.15 for school purposes here, but the money was not accepted and used. It is thought that bitter opposition to the carpet bagger government at Austin was responsible for this unusual refusal to accept government aid for educational work. By 1873-74 the scholastic population had grown to 332, and 206 pupils were actually enrolled in the eight schools then operating in the county. Teachers that year received a salary of $49 each for the term, which averaged three and a half months.
In 1874 -75 there were 422 scholastics and an actual enrollment of 245 for a four months term. The scholastic population had more than doubled by 1876-77, when 976 were enumerated, and 514 were actually enrolled in attendance. Sixteen teachers were employed that year. In 1877 there were 28 school districts, in 1878 there were 37, and in 1879 there were 46. Most schools were of the one-room, one teacher type.
For 1877 the state school apportionment was $4.06 per capita, and totaled $3,334.50 for the county. This was divided approximately as follows:
Connell $126
Spring Creek $94.50
Byrds Store $153
Clark $90
Blackwell $90,
Reagan $103
Rock Spring $153
Elm Grove $144
Stepps Creek $144
Pecan Bayou $99
Rough Branch (near present community of Holder) $103.50
Parksford $198
Prairie Gap $99
Bruce $54
Windham $85.50
Stovall $103
Pleasant Valley $171
Mud Creek $45
Teague $157
McDaniel $67.50
McInnis $99
Williams $99
Jim Ned $67.50
Golson $130
Hanna Valley $58.50
Clear Creek $122
Jones Creek $99
Brownwood $378
Teachers employed in the county for the term of 1878-79 included:
G. W. Dexter, Miss E. C. Henderson, A. E. Perry, J. D. Seay, D. R. Whiteley, D. J. Cook, James Williams, George Hogue, A. E. Forbes, C. H. Powell, J. W. Yates, Phil H. Clements, L. S. Childress, James S. Smith, T. B. Kempner, S. H. Allison, W. F. Homes, Emma Agee and N. N. Trapp.
George Hogue was principal of the Brownwood school and received a salary of $378 for a four months term. Prior to 1878 there were a number of teachers, including W. N. Adams, and others who served for short periods of time in the schools of the county. J. H. Miller came here in 1879, and for several years taught at Thrifty and later at Indian Creek, probably serving for a longer period of time as a rural teacher than any other during that period. It is noticeable that almost all the teachers of the first dozen years or more were men, whereas the modern school has many more women than men in its faculty.
In 1885 there were 2,333 scholastics and 64 teachers in the county. The system of maintaining small rural schools was continued until comparatively recent years, when consolidations began and larger rural districts were created so that more adequate facilities and longer terms could be made possible. Residents throughout the county cheerfully accepted heavy taxation for school purposes, and in the past few years the state apportionment was also greatly increased and special aid was made available for almost every school.
The first public school system in Brownwood was established in 1876. The first building for school purpose was built at the site of the present Central school, on the block surrounded by Main, West Lee, Booker and Anderson streets. This was later called the Ford ward school. George Hogue, first teacher there, was followed by a Mr. Parks, as principal. In 1880 P. C. and Mark E. Ragsdale were placed in charge of the town’s schools, and a new building was erected in the southern part of town that year. It was the old brick building now on the campus of Daniel Baker College and used as a science building by that institution. It was known by several names during the years, including that of Coggin Academy.
Brownwood Independent School District was formally incorporated at an election held June 3, 1883. Carl Vincent became the first city superintendent of schools in 1883. Daniel Baker and Howard Payne colleges were established in 1889 and 1890, respectively, and soon become the leading institutions in this part of the state. Although at first each college was largely a private enterprise, it was not long before the Presbyterian church, U.S.A., assumed control of Daniel Baker college and the Baptists of this section became responsible for Howard Payne college. Several other schools and colleges, including Me’s Business college and its successor, Brownwood Business College; Central Texas School of Oratory, and many others, have been established during the past twenty or thirty years, in addition to innumerable private kindergartens and schools of music .
Sources: THE PROMISED LAND – A HISTORY OF BROWN COUNTY, TEXAS by James C. White
Photo: Brownwood Public Library – Genealogy & Local History Collection
This and many other stories are available at the Brownwood Public Library – Genealogy & Local History Branch at 213 S. Broadway. Volunteers from the Pecan Valley Genealogical Society are there to assist you in your family or local history research.
Clay Riley is a local historian and retired Aerospace Engineer that has been involved in the Historical and Genealogical Community of Brown County for over 20 years. Should you have a comment, or a question that he may be able to answer in future columns, he can be reached at; pvgsbwd@gmail.com.
