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Site
of Center Point School Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, March 2010 |
Historical Marker
Text:
Site of Center
Point School
Yoakum
County
was organized in 1907. By the 1920s the area around this site was
rural farm and ranch land without electricity, paved roads or a railroad.
Building lumber was brought by freight wagon. Several local men erected
a one-room frame building near this site in 1924 to serve as a school
for the widely-scattered rural families. The structure also was used
for Sunday school, monthly services and Methodist and Baptist revivals.
Designated as Center Point School District No. 8, it served an area
of 64 square miles.
Classes ranged in size from four to more than twenty students over
the years. Some walked a mile or more across open prairie to reach
the school. Others rode horses, which they kept tethered behind the
building. Students participated in Yoakum County Interscholastic League
events in addition to their usual studies. Teachers earned $80-$100
a month to teach all grades, do janitorial work and in some cases
even provide daily transportation for the students. Teachers usually
boarded with local families.
Enrollment increased slightly when oil camps opened in the county
in 1935. In the spring of 1939, voters opted to merge Center Point
School District No. 8 with others to form Plains Rural School District.
The one-room school was closed and moved to Plains
for use as a music building, later becoming part of the American Legion
hall.
Center Point School served the educational, spiritual and social needs
of the surrounding community for fifteen years. Although short-lived,
its legacy remains a vital part of the history of this part ofYoakum
County.
(2000) |
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Site
of Center Point School Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, March 2010 |
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