By the 1870s, there were more than 100 schools established in the rural areas of Stephens County. At first, there was a private school taught by N. L. Bartholomew, who was killed and scalped by a small group of Indians, as he was hunting for his hobbled horse in the foothills of western Stephens County.
Then, later in the 1870s, there was a private school taught by Captain McConnell. Subsequently, another private school was soon established on the site of the First Christian Church and taught by J.B. Crutcher and his wife. It was a two-story wooden structure and also served as a community meeting place. In 1880, this became the first Public School in Stephens County, as Crutcher moved on and turned the structure over to the Public School system in Breckenridge. It had four rooms on the first floor, with a big Pot-Bellied stove in the center to heat all the rooms. The second floor had an auditorium and stage for plays, musicals and community meetings and any other activities such as the ‘Woodmen of the Woods’ could meet there. It was soon known as the ‘Opera House.’
Students from Ranger, Eastland, Cisco, Albany and Throckmorton came to Breckenridge for their senior year of high school, which would be the 11th grade in those days. The reason for the area attendance was because the Breckenridge School was accredited, which allowed the graduates to be qualified to take the State Board exam for teacher certification. These students often boarded locally with family or in private homes. Many of the graduates returned to their rural schools and became teachers.
In 1904, another two-story stone building was constructed on a 10-acre site which became known as ‘High School Hill,’ on West Lindsey. By 1920, Mr. L.T. Cook was hired as the superintendent and was instructed to build a school system that would include rural schools. The expansion in population due to the ‘Oil Boom’ required a recognizable school system. and more school structures.
By 1922-23, in the height of the Oil Boom, the Walker-Caldwell School was constructed where East Elementary is located currently and was used for elementary-aged students. Additionally, the Central Grammar School was established like a later junior high school and the Breckenridge High School was built as well during this era. Mr. John F. Bailey became the BHS principal and his wife Kate Bailey was the senior English teacher.
L.T. Cook also established a well-defined record-keeping system to track student attendance and grades and the school system’s finances.
The Breckenridge ISD became a model school for the whole state of Texas and was recognized as the ‘Best School System in the State.’
The rural schools had a superintendent, Mrs. Ula Brockman, who was the widow of a local doctor. She was appointed as the County School Superintendent. The rural schools were in session three to five or six months because they had to work around harvests and planting season for the older students. When the position came up for election, Brockman ran against two men and beat them to earn the position on her own. By this time, Caddo had 22 teachers, Parks Camp had 15 teachers, Frankell had seven and Wayland had 5 teachers.
More about Breckenridge schools next week.
