Willow City School

Next open house or event test

Saturday, March 9, 2024, from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. A special activity will be included titled "Come tour the Willow City School built in 1905 and enjoy Hands-on Flower Pressing and Texas Wildflower Identification".

Check our Events Calendar for other Friends-sponsored events to attend.

Club Activities

The Willow City Community Club was organized on May 12, 1961. The Club meets monthly on the first Friday at 6:45 p.m. for a short business meeting and light meal, followed by games of 42 dominoes and socializing.

The Willow City School Building/Community Center is available for rental for community and private activities, such as birthday parties, classes, meetings, receptions, reunions, rest stops for bicycle tours, and unique destination weddings.

Visits or Tours

Don't miss out on the chance to explore the schools and their neighboring grounds, even if there are no official open house events scheduled. The school properties and land offer excellent opportunities for leisurely walks, bird watching, engaging in geo-caching, and more. In case the school buildings are locked, take a moment to peer through the windows and catch a glimpse of their interiors. However, if there happens to be a private event in progress, please be considerate and avoid disrupting it.

To schedule a visit or tour when the school isn't conducting a scheduled open house, call the Willow City rental contact person below or complete our Contact Us form and select Willow City School from the dropdown. Include the date/time of your request along with details.

Rental Contact

Mable Wilke
830-685-3385

Driving Directions

#12 on the driving map located at 2501 Ranch Road 1323, Willow City TX 78675

photo of Willow City School

A brief history of Willow City School

Built in 1905. Consolidated in 1961. Some students brought lunch in half-pint jars with their names carved on the lids. At other schools, students used lard or molasses buckets with a wire handle, white flour bags, or later even lunch boxes. There was always a designated place where lunches were stored. Lunches consisted of homemade bread, boiled eggs, butter and jelly bread, headcheese or kochkäse (cooked cheese), and dried meat or sausage, in addition to fruit and cookies.

The Willow City Community Club was organized on May 12, 1961. The Willow City Volunteer Fire Department was organized on June 22, 1967. It now oversees the Willow City VFD Special Schoolhouse Fund. Monetary donations are appreciated to assist with preservation projects. Your donations may be mailed to the Willow City Schoolhouse Fund, 2501 Ranch Road 1323, Willow City, TX 78675.

WCVFD Schoolhouse Fund Officers

President:
Janet Rabke
830-685-3266, 830-3953882

Vice-President:
Tamara Carroll
830-456-5877

Secretary:
Frances Heimann
830-685-3321, 830-992-9902
Treasurer:
Larry Hauptrief
830-685-3078

School Club Officers

President:
Louis Rech
830-685-3321

Vice-President:
Adrienne Jaramillo
830-456-2662

Secretary:
Mable Wilke
830-685-3385

Treasurer:
Mable Wilke
830-685-3385

Representatives:
Mable Wilke
830-685-3385
Dennis Robertson
830-998-0911
Representatives:
Jeannette Gold Lopez
830-998-0543
Raynell Wilke
830-685-3385

History of Willow City School

The Willow City School District #804 was in the northeastern part of Gillespie County, with its northern border extending to the Llano County line. English-speaking settlers of the Old South and of Scotch-Irish descent, together with a sprinkling of German settlers, became the backbone of the community. In addition to the more substantial settlers of Willow City, a great deal of riffraff used the town as a "hangout" at the turn of the century. Drawing a knife in a fight between school youngsters was quite a common offense. There was also a report of teachers wrangling with a school boy to take a six shooter away from him.

The first school was a one-room log cabin, which also served as a church. R. C. Roberts, who came to the community in 1876, described the schoolhouse as "a one-room log cabin, no longer new". It had split log benches and no floor. After severe flooding, a two-story frame schoolhouse was constructed in 1890 on higher ground. This building had two classrooms downstairs and one large classroom upstairs with an outside stairway. A bell tower summoned the students to class.

It was early in 1905, when the Willow City District became independent, that it was decided to build a new school. J. W. Lindeman and J. C. Hardin each donated a plot of ground, and after a bond issue, the new, two-story hickory-sandstone school building became a reality. Large granite rocks form the lintel on all the windows. It had school rooms on the first floor and one room on the second. The second floor served as an auditorium and classroom during the years when there were three teachers. This room also had a stage. Improvements were made to the building in 1915 in order to obtain state aid. Ventilators were added. A partition was built on the first floor to create an entrance hallway, and blackboard space was added. The school had no water supply until 1920 when a well was drilled. Until that time, students brought their own water from home or a resident living close to school supplied water. In the 1950's, restrooms were added to the north side of the building. With three teachers, one for each room, grades one to nine were taught through 1956. Then in 1957 with two teachers, grades one to eight were taught. The 9th graders went to Fredericksburg for high school. Willow City Independent School District was consolidated with Fredericksburg Independent School District in 1961.

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