FIRST SCHOOLS IN HAMILTON COUNTY

1. 1857--Langford Cove school taught by Raleigh Hazzard who was paid $92.58 on 2 November, 1857, by the Coryell County Commissioners.

2. 1859--Hamilton--private school taught by John Jefferson Durham. This school ended when Mr. Durham enlisted in the Confederate Army.

3. 1860- private school taught near on the Leon River east of Hamilton by Jesse Jones Griffith, who was killed by Indians 9 February, 1860, thus ending the school.

The Civil war suspended the formal education processes in Hamilton County until 1867.

4. 1867--Miss Ann Whitney taught the private Leon River School on the south banks of the Leon River in Warlene Valley. She was murdered by Indians on 11 July, 1867 (or 9 July--accounts vary), but managed to help her students escape.

5. 1867--H. M. Gaston was teaching in a private school at the head of Neil’s Creek when Miss Whitney was slain.

6. 1873--Rock House School--Mr. Burton, the first teacher, had to carry his pistol to school with him because Indian raids were so frequent. 


7. 1873--Fairview School was organized about 1873 by Gilbert Kingsbury, James P. Murphree, John Eddy, and Oren Peck.

8. 1875--West Point--In 1875 Joseph Hardy Dixon , a school teacher, from Alabama taught the first school in the new West Point School which was located on the site of the present day Chumney Dairy. Mr. Dixon arrived with his family and with all of their worldly possessions in a covered wagon at the farm of Henry Jones Carter (later know as the Jack Stribling place) at Blue Ridge. Mr. Carter provided a log cabin with a fire place for the Dixons. Mr. Dixon contracted to teach the first school at West Point and walked eight and one half miles every day to West Point to teach for two years. Despite walking through torrents of rain and boot-deep snow, and sometimes having to swim the raging Cowhouse Creek, Mr. Dixon was never late for school.

9. 1876--Miss Alice Goggin taught the first school at Pottsville in the Summer of 1876. It was a private school on the Hoover Ranch.

10. 1876--Shive--The first one-room log school building was erected before 1877.

11. Before 1877-- Hudac School was north of Indian Gap and between Pottsville and Indian Gap in the present day Pottsville Gas Field. Hudac School was established before the first school in Indian Gap

12. Bef. July, 1877--Cottonwood Springs: The school at Cottonwood Springs was established at least by 4 July, 1877, when a group of Baptists met at the Cottonwood Springs School to organize the Hamilton County Baptist Association.

13. 1877--Indian Gap--The first school in Indian Gap was taught in 1877 in a log cabin on the E. Spivey, Sr. place with A. B. "Gus" Bell as the teacher.

14.  Miss Mollie McLerran, a teacher at Honey Grove School, was appointed postmistress at Honey Creek on 7 March, 1877, before the Honey Creek Post Office was removed to Carlton. Honey Grove School was located between Hico and Carlton.

15. 1878--Springdale School--The first school house was built as early as 1878. It was located on Gholson Creek between Pecan Wells and Shive at Gholson Creek, TX.

16. 1879--Blue Ridge--Levi Angel taught in the first school building erected by volunteers during the summer of 1879 using lumber hauled from Waco by ox-drawn wagons.

18. September 1, 1879 L. C. Snow, who had a second-grade certificate, was employed to teach in Rock House School Community No. 4, until the public school funds of that district were exhausted. Snow’s salary was set at seven and one-half cents per pupil per day, not to exceed $40 per month. The trustees were T. D. Nee, R. C. F. Stout, and Edward Jasper Wyatt.

19. 1879 - Live Oak School--On 13 September, 1879, the Hamilton County Commissioners Court signed a contract with Joseph Hardy Dixon to teach five months at Live Oak with a salary of $14.00 per month, and one dollar per month for each child under eight or over fourteen.

20. 1879--Shaffer-- The Shaffer Public Free School was in the Sunshine Community. J. G. Martin was employed on 2 October, 1879 to teach in the Shaffer School No. 22 for four months by the trustees who were T. P. Smith, C. C. Jones, and F. M. Kolb. Mrs. Orpha Jane Blackman Ridenhower taught in the Shaffer Public Free School in 1878-79 with an annual salary of $35 for a school term from November through January.

21. 1879--Patterson: Trustees Joe E. Smith, E. Manning and B. F. Wheeler hired L. G. Belew on 17 October, 1879, to teach in Patterson School No. 1.

22. 1879--Hico--J. E. Corrigan, Jr. was employed on 24 October, 1879, as the teacher in the Hico School by the trustees W. B. Hickman and J. F. Hutchinson.

23. 1879--Rocky School--The teacher of Rocky School, No. 13 in 1879 was L. E. Sheridan who was hired on 24 October, 1879, by the trustees were F. M. Carlton, L. C. Smith and J. H. Everett.

24. 1879--Doe Springs School: A. D. Wallace, a teacher with a first-grade certificate taught in Doe Springs School Community No. 9 near Hico in 1879 at a salary of $25 per month. He was employed on 3 November, 1879.

25. 1879--Terry School--was between Cranfills Gap and Jonesboro. John H. Berry was employed 10 November, 1879, to teach at Terry School No. 2. Trustees were J. N. Lyons, Hyram Stanford, and Elisha Terry.

26. 1879--Sycamore School--November 17,1879, George M. Martin was employed to teach at Sycamore School No. 38. Trustees were D. C. Hendrix and C. M. Pearson.

27. 1879--Partridge Creek School-- Miss Florence Brown, who held a third grade certificate, was employed on 31 December, 1879, to teach in the Partridge Creek School for four months with a salary of $20 per month.

28. 1879--Antioch School--Miss C. P. Couchman, who held second grade certification taught in the Antioch School in 1879 for three months.. Trustees were Hiram Hawley and W. M. Kemp.