|
| WHITE OAK SCHOOL |
 |
| A brief history of White Oak School: Built in the 1920's. Consolidated in 1950. Moved to Pioneer Museum in 1990. Admission fee for museum. Box suppers were held as one way to earn money for the school. The young girls would decorate a box with crepe paper, create a work of art according to their artistic abilities, and fill it with all sorts of good things to eat: sandwiches, cakes, fruit, etc. These boxes were then auctioned off to the men and sold to the highest bidder, who did not know by whom the box was created. After all the boxes were sold, they would share the contents of the box. |
| The History of White Oak School |
White Oak School was located on 1.1 acres of land approximately 15 miles southwest of Fredericksburg. The White Oak community derived its name from the oak trees abundant in that area, which produced a somewhat softer and whiter textured wood than the common oak. Land for the school was purchased from John Jordan in 1892 for one dollar. Evidence still remains of a foundation from a previous school directly across the road. Built in the 1920s, the present schoolhouse is a one-room wooden building with a tin roof. The first furniture consisted of crude tables and benches made by the school trustees. The school always had one teacher with grades one through seven. Grade eight was taught in later years. The teacher was required to speak both English and German. The first teacher was A.D. Fischer, who received a monthly salary of $30. Families were required to pay an $8 annual fee and 45 cents per month for each pupil, which later increased to $1. This was the main source of support for the school. If funds were short, a collection was taken. Until the second school was built and a cistern installed, two students carried water in a bucket from a neighboring farm. Every pupil drank out of the same tin water cup. Lunch from home consisted mainly of homemade bread, boiled eggs, butter and jelly bread, and sausage. During recess, the pupils and teacher pulled broom weeds and tidied the grounds. Pupils swept the school, cleaned the blackboards, and dusted erasers every afternoon. When time permitted, the students played games. In later years baseball games were scheduled with the neighboring schools of Tivydale, Wrede, and Morris Ranch. On August 14, 1950, White Oak School consolidated with Morris Ranch School, which later consolidated with Fredericksburg Independent School District. The schoolhouse and its outbuildings were donated by the Charles Feller family in 1990 and moved to the Gillespie County Historical Society's Pioneer Museum Complex in Fredericksburg. |
#17 on the driving map GPS: 30.274486,-98.869143
|
The Friends of Gillespie County Country Schools, Inc.
P.O. Box 55
Fredericksburg TX 78624
(830) 685-3321
info@historicschools.org
We welcome your comments & feedback about our website.
Website design by Website Solutions.
| Free Website Hit Counters |
