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In this series
we showcase some of the most modest of Texas buildings. Schools had
one purpose and one purpose only. They didn't enjoy the amenities
or details of hotels,
public buildings, depots or
courthouses. In some cases during
the winters of the 1930s - each child came to school with a piece
of firewood for the stove.
Many schools were dismantled and recycled into barns and outbuildings
after the school consolidations of the late 40s and early 50s. Only
a fraction are still standing today. Some today serve as community
buildings or even residences. Others are simply collapsing under their
own weight or being swallowed by vegetation. |
Texas School
Buildings &
One Room Schoolhouses
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“The
Most Modest of Buildings” By Mary S. Black
Photos by Bruce F Jordan
Excerpted From "Early Texas Schools: A Photographic History”
The Schools We
Knew by Bob Bowman
From the 1800s to shortly after World War II, East Texas was made
up mostly of farming communities,... almost every community had
a school which acted as the glue that held each settlement together...
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Friends
of Gillespie County Country Schools
12 Gillespie County Schools are Recognized – Not for Achievement,
but Survival
Restoring
Trinity's Old Red - The red-brickTrinity schoolhouse, built
in 1911-13
TEXAS SCHOOLHOUSES
Abilene
High School & Colleges
Acme
School, Quanah, 1939-42 Teachers & Students Portraits
Albert
- Williams Creek School
Aldine
Schoolhouse
Aledo
High School
Aleman,
former school
Allamoore
School
Alligator
School House, Texas
Alpine
High School
Alvin
Public School
Ambrose
Old Schoolhouse
Amherst
Old Schoolhouse
Alvord
Public School
Andrews
Anton
Antelope
School & Gym
Aransas
Pass old school building
Argenta
Schoolhouse
Argo
School
Ashby
Asherton
High School
Ballinger
School Buildings
Bangs
High School
Barstow
High stadium scoreboard
Barstow
School
Barstow
Schoolhouse in 1908
Bartlett
School Feature
Baxter
School
Baursville
School
Baylor
University, Independence
Bayside
School
Baytown
- Wooster Common School No. 38, Harris County Feature
Beaukiss
School Feature
Ben
Ficklin School, former Tom Green County Courthouse
Bend
School (no photos)
Benoit
old schoolhouse
Berclair
School
Bernardo
Class Photo
Bethel
Schoolhouse
Bethel
School, Runnels County (no photos)
Big
Spring Public School
Bigfoot
School
Bishop
High School
Bledsoe
School Feature
Bluffton
Schoolhouse
Bluntzer
School
Boling
High School
Bonnie
Parker's Alma Mater
Bonnie
View School
Borger
High School, circa 1930s
Bowie
- East Ward School
Brandon
School
Bremond
School
Brenham
High School
Briary
Old Schoolhouse
Bridge
Valley Class of 1919
Briggs
School
Brock
ISD
Bronco
Highway School (no photo)
Brookesmith
School old and new gym
Brown School (Lavaca County)
Brownwood
- Rufus F. Hardin School Feature
Brownwood
- Central and High School
Bula
Schoolhouse Ruins
Bulah
Bulcher
Bunger
Bunker
Hill School 1911 6-14-23
Bushdale
School class photo
Caesar
High School Class of 1914
Calf
Creek School Feature
Capitola
1917 School
Carbon
Old Schoolhouse & former high school
Carlton
school
Carta
Valley Schoolhouse
Cartwright
Castell
old schoolhouse Feature
Catarina
School
Cave
Creek School Feature
On National Register of Historic Places
Centennial
School Feature
Center
High School - School Days Feature
A Ghost Story by James L. Choron
Center
Point School
Channing
School
Chapman
Ranch
Chappell
Hill former school, now a museum
Charlie
Cheapside
Cherry
Spring - Old Cherry Spring School
Chico
former schoolhouse - Siddon-Barnes Log Cabin 1870s
Chicota
School Class c. 1940s
Chillicothe
Choate
School
Circle
Back - Grade 1-3 1956 Class Photo
Cistern
Schoolhouse c. 1920
Clarendon
High School 1927 - Athletes and Pep Squad
Clairette
Schoolhouse
Clareville
Clarkson
old schoolhouse
Close
City School
Coke
- Lloyd C.S.D. 7
Coldwater
Schoolhouse
Colita
Academy
Collegeport
School
Collinsville
School
Colony
School
Commerce
High School - Class Of 1922
Commerce
High School - Class of 1927
Concord
School
Concord
Rosenwald School
Conway
School
Cookville
Public School, early 1900s
Corsicana
High School
Cottonwood
old schoolhouse
Cotulla
High School c. 1928
Courtney
School, 1913
Cozy
Corner - Lane Pool School, renamed Hostyn Colored School
Crabapple
School c. 1878
Crane
High School
Cranfills
Gap c. 1939
Crawford
Middle School
Cresson
School & Historical Marker
Crews
Schoolhouse & Gym
Crosby
County - Leatherwood School
Crockett
- Mary Allen College
Dale
Dalhart
High School
Dayton
Old Schoolhouse
Del
Rio High School
Denhawken
School
Denison
Schools
Denison
High School - Razed Feature
Denver
City Elementary (former) - Museum Today
Dermott
Schoolhouse (In Snyder)
Desdemona
School
D'Hanis
- St. Anthony's School
Divot
Donna
School
Doole
Elementary School 5th and 6th grade class 1946 - 1947
Downing
school bell
Dozier
Draw
School House Feature (no photo)
Dripping
Springs Academy
Driscoll
High School - Burned
Dryden
Dulin
Dundee
School
Duffau
School
Eagle
Lake High School Band
Eagle
Pass
Edinburg High School
El
Campo School
Elgin
Public School, early 1900s
Eliasville
De Long Ward School
Elkhart
Schoolhouse ruin?
Elkhart
1928 Class
Ellinger
- German School
Elm
Grove School sign
Elm
Mott School
2-22-22
Enloe High School Varsity 1938
Eola
School Feature
Eulogy
School Feature
Eureka
School in Spunky Flat Feature
Ezzell
School Historical Marker
Falfurrias
High School class of 1953
Fargo
- Northside ISD
Farmer
Farmers
Branch 1900-1910 Schoolhouse
Fayetteville
School
Flowella
Floyd
Fluvanna
school children 1915-17
Fly
Gap schoolhouse
Forney
High School
Fort
McKavett Schoolhouse Feature
Fredericksburg's
"Vereins Kirche"
Freyburg
School
Friberg
School, Site of
Friendship
(Submerged) - School
Gallatin
Old Schoolhouse 1916
Gasoline
School
Gay
Hill one room schoolhouse
Gilliland
School Ruins
Glen
Rose High School Tiger Stadium sign
Goliad
High School
Golly
Gorman
Public School
Granger
High School
Grapetown
Schoolhouse Feature
Grapevine
- Donald Schoolhouse
Grit
Schoolhouse
Hamby
Elementary School
Hart
Camp
Haskell
Schools
High
Hill - St. Mary's School
Heard
Schoolhouse
Helena
Schoolhouse - Former Karnes County Courthouse Feature
Hereford
Hext
Holland
Holman
- Holman School & Pecan School
Holt
School
Houston
- Charles Elliot Elementary
Hostyn
Hill
Hovey
Schoolhouse Feature
Illinois
Bend
Indian
Creek School, Mills County
Indian
Gap School
Ingleside
Schools marker
Iowa
Park High School
Italy
High School
Jacksboro
High School
Jacksonville
- Frederick Douglass School
Jacksonville
Colleges
Jarrell School, 1928 and Class Photos
Jarrett
Schoolhouse
Jeddo
old Schoolhouse
Johnson
City Public School
Jonesboro
School
Juno
Schoolhouse
Justiceburg
Schoolhouse
Keene
School
Kelsey
School
Kendalia
School c.1930
Kenedy
Kent
School ruin
Kermit
Elementary School
Kerrick
School
Feature
Kerrville
- Tivy High School
Kimball
School
Kingsbury
Kingsville
- Henrietta M. King High School Feature
Kirtley
Knobbs
Springs old schoolhouse
Koerth
Kountze
High School
La
Joya
Lagarto
- Former School
Lake
View Hall County Old Schoolhouse
Lawsonville
- Concord School
Ledbetter
Lela
High School
Lelia
Lake
Leming
Elementary
Lesley
Schoolhouse
Lilac
School - Class 1901
Lipan
High School
Lipscomb
School
Llano
High School
Lockhart
- Ward School
Lolita
Lone
Grove Schoolhouse Feature
Longview
- Northcutt Heights Elementary School
Lorenzo
Lowake
school (now community center)
Lubbock
- Senior High School
Lubbock
- Texas Tech College
Luther
School
Lutie
Lyford
School, 1911
Mackay
Class of 1927
Manda
old schoolhouse
Marathon
Schoolhouse
Marfa
High School
Marietta
ISD
Markley
School marker
Mason
High School
Marshall
High School
Marshall
Colleges
Masterson
- Bivins School
Maverick
Schoolhouse
Maypearl
School
McAllen
High School
McCaulley
School
McFaddin
School
Mecklenburg
Class 1942
Medicine
Mound Schoolhouse ruin?
Megargel
Mentone
Church & Former Schoolhouse
The oldest building in Loving County
Merit
Mesquite
1905 Schoolhouse
Middle
Creek - St. Anthony's
Middle
Water school ruins
Midland
Midway
- Beasley School Site
Miles
High School
Millersview
School
Minerva
Schoolhouse
Moline
Schoolhouse
Monaville
Mooreville
Moran
School
Moravia
School Historical Marker
Morgan
- Union Hill School
Morgan
Mill High School
Morris
Ranch 1893 schoolhouse
Mosheim
Mozell
High School
Moulton
Mount
Mitchell - Site of Valley View School Historical Marker
Muenster
- Sacred Heart School
Mullin
School
Mullins
Prairie
Mungerville
Murphy
School
Mykawa
School
Myra
School
Myrtle
Springs School
Nash
Public School and Marker
Nechanitz
Nelsonville
New
Baden
New
London School Explosion Feature
New
London - West Rusk High School Feature
New
Ulm
New
Wehdem
Nicholson
School, Collingsworth County
Nixon-Smiley
High School
Noodle
- Cross Road School
Northfield
- Closed school
Novohrad
- Grieve School
Nuecetown
Schoolhouse
Oak
Grove (Jones County) Class 1903
Oakalla
- 1920 former schoolhouse
Oakland
Academy Class 1906
Oatmeal
- Stone schoolhouse
Odell
School
Odem
Odessa
High School
O'Donnell
High School
Oklahoma
Lane Schoolhouse
Old
Glory High School
Old
Waverly Schoolhouse
Olmos
Olney
School
Omaha
- Site of Omaha School Marker
Oso
- Pine Springs School Marker
Overton
School
Ozona
High School
Palestine
School
Pandale
Schoolhouse
Panna
Maria - children's water fountain
Parnell
School ruins
Pawnee
- School Bell
Peacock
Reunions
Pear
Valley
Pearland
1912 High School
Peaster
Pierce
School
Pelham
- Ash Creek School Historical marker
Peoria
Pep
Perico
abandoned school
Petronila
Pettit
High School
Pettus
High School
Peyton
Colony School, 1877-1963
Pharr
School, 1911
Pharr-San
Juan-Alamo School, 1915
Pickens
old school
Piney
- Merry-Go-Round
Placid
School
Plains
High School
Plainview
- Waiting for the High School to be completed
Poesta
School
Polly
Schoolhouse
Poolville
Elementary
Port
Arthur Middle School
Portland
Post
High School Historical marker
Pottsville
School
Power
Point School
Prairie
School
Prairie
Mountain School
Premont
High School Cheerleaders 1953
Priddy
School
Pringle
Elementary School
Proffitt
Baptist Church
Purves
old school with windmill
Pyote
School
Pyron
School
Quanah
- Acme School, 1939-42 Teachers & Students Portraits
Rabbs
Prairie
Ralls
Middle School
Ray
Point Old Schoolhouse
Red
Bluff School 1920
Redwater
School
Rheingold
School
Ricardo
school mascot
Rice
Ranch Community School Children, c1912
Richardson
- Wheeler School
Ridge
old school
Rio
Grande City School, Burned
Rio
Hondo
Roaring
Springs
Rochester
School
Rock
Island School Picnic
Rock
Island Class of 1925
Rocksprings
School
Rosanky
School
Rosser
Roznov
School
Rowena
Schools
Rusk
High School
Sagerton
Schoolhouse & Class of 1905 (?)
Salado
- Amity School circa 1906
San
Benito School
San
Diego Schoolhouses
San
Gabriel School
San
Jacinto School
San
Saba Schools
Sanco School
Sanderson
High School
Sandia
Santa
Anna High School
Santo
High School, old and new
School
Hill old schoolhouse
Schroeder
Scott
School, 1907
Scranton
Academy
Sempronius
Schoolhouse
Shady
Grove School
Shankleville
- Blum Male and Female College Historical Marker
Sharp
School
Shep
Shiloh
Schoolhouse
Silver
Silverton
Schoolhouse
Sisterdale
old stone schoolhouse
Sipe
Springs (Mila County) School 1914
Slater
Sligo
Schoolhouse
Slocum
School
Smithville
Central School
Snyder
High School, 1900s
Sonora
High School
Southland
School Relic
Spade
Spanish
Fort School
Speaks
former schoolhouse
Stamps
School
Star
School
Starr
county unidentified school
Sterling
City ISD
Stonewall
Schools
Stony
Strawn
- Robinson Schoolhouse Feature
Sunshine
Hill School - Burned
Swearingen
School, 1928
Sweet
Home Vocational and Agricultural School
On National Register of Historic Places
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Swiss
Alp
Sylvester
School
Tahoka
High School
Talco
High School
Tankersley
Schoolhouses
Tarkington
Prairie
Teague
High School
Tehuacana
School
Tennessee
Colony Community Center/School
Tennyson
School
Thalia
Thornton
School historical marker
Thrift
School ?
Thurman
School - Kickaboo
Time
School -1915 Class Photo
Titus
County Lime Kiln School 1917 class photo
Tokio
School and historicla marker
Tomball
Topsey
Toyah
Elementary & High School, 1912
Trickham
School
Trinity
schoolhouse (All Things Historical)
Trio
School - Haunted Feature
Truby
School Historical Marker
Tucker
- Green Bay High School
Tuleta
Agriculture High School
Tulia
Public School, 1908
Turkey
High School
Tyler
Union
Grove High School Feature
Uvalde
High School
Valera
School, closed
Valley
View School, closed Cottle Co
Valley
View Cooke Co
Van
Van
Alstyne
Vattmann
Vega
Public School
Velehrad
Venus
Public School Building
Victoria
Public School
Vigo
Park
Vox Populi - Class of 1920
Waldeck
Schoolhouse
Waneta
Schoolhouse
Waring
School - State Historic Landmark
Washington
School
Water
Valley
Watterson
School
Wayside
School
Waxahachie
Waxahachie
- Park Public School
Weesatche
School
Weimar
Schools
Weinert
Grade & High School
Weldon
School
Welfare
School - State Historic Landmark
West
Sinton
Westhoff
Westover
School Historical Marker
West
Point Public School
Wharton
County school bus c.1928
White
Deer Grade School
Whiteflat
School
Whiteland
School
White
Rock Schoolhouse
Whitewright
Whitt
Wied
Williams
Community School
Willow
City
Winchester
Winedale
Schoolhouse
Wingate
Winnsboro
Woods
Schoolhouse?
Yancey
Yoakum
Public School
Yoakum
County - Center Point School Historical Marker
The Zephyr Public School Building
The
Zimmersheidt School - "The Last One Room Schoolhouse In Texas"
Feature
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"...
with its playground worn so bare, that even the months of sun and
idleness failed to bring forth any grass." - James Rooney
TE Photo |
"It seemed, as
I recall it, a lonely little house of scholarship, with its playground
worn so bare, that even the months of sun and idleness failed to bring
forth any grass. But that humble little school had a dignity of a
fixed and far off purpose. It was the nest of the West's greatness.
It was the outpost of civilization. It was the advance guard of the
pioneer, driving the wilderness farther into the west. It was life
preparing wistfully for the future. The school was poorly equipped,
indeed, since it boasted only a few long, crude benches, with no desks
but the knees upon which to write. The teacher was afflicted with
the tobacco habit, which the ten small pupils accepted along with
other disadvantages".
James Rooney remembers the White House School in Fort Stockton as
it was in 1879. From the introduction to Journey From Ignorant Ridge,
Texas Congress of Parents and Teachers, 1976 |
Colleges and
Universities
|
Thorp
Springs Christian College 1914-1915 Yearbook
Old photos & yearbook pages of buildings, societies, curriculum,
tuition, faculty, students...
Savoy
Male and Female College by Mike Cox
When graduates of the long-extinct Savoy Male and Female College
gathered for their first reunion in 1938, several of the men did
a little reminescing about the Indians fights they had back in the
day...
Jarvis
Christian College by Archie P. McDonald
Obtaining a collegiate education presented a problem for African
Americans in Texas prior to court-ordered racial integration which
began in the 1950s...
East
Texas Bapist University by Archie P. McDonald
East Texas Baptist College, now University, began and remains in
Marshall, Texas...
Another
College Among the Pines by Archie P. McDonald
We who give "All Hail to SFA" think of our University by one of
its earlier nicknames, "The College Among The Pines." That also
described another excellent institution headquartered in Carthage,
Texas, named Panola College after its host county.
Stephen
F. Austin State University by Archie P. McDonald
Add-Ran
College, now TCU, Thorp Spring
Dana
X. Bible and the Twelfth Man by Archie P. McDonald
A story about the life and contributions to Texas football by Dana
Xenophon Bible
Salado
College by Clay Coppedge
Tehuacana
- Westminster College
Texas
A & M University, a Brief History
Benton
City Institute
Brownwood
- Howard-Payne College images
Brownwood
- Daniel Baker College image
Hereford
- Hereford Christian College images
Historical Markers
Bay
View College, Portland
Original
Site of East Texas Normal College
Friona
Schools Historical Marker
Friona has the distinction of being the first town in Texas to integrate
its schools.
Henry
and Emerson Colleges historical marker, Campbell, Texas
Lagarto
College Historical Marker
Larissa
- Site of Old Larissa College
|
Remembering
Lamar by Mike Cox
Giles
Academy (Ben Franklin, Texas)
Historical marker
How
Photographer Drew Kapalach’s Camera Sees Galveston by Bill Cherry
There is a photo taken by Mr. Kalapach that reminds me of a great
George Mitchell story, one that’s completely different; one no one
knew to tell.
The
Night of January 16th by Bill Cherry
Fifty-five years of January 16ths have come and gone since then,
but the lesson taught on January 16, 1957 by Ball High School speech
and drama teacher, Arthur Graham, at the old Galveston County Courthouse
remain intact to this day with those who were there.
A Good Education Often Brings Remarkable Rewards by Bill Cherry
If you were to ask educators why they picked teaching for their
lifetime contribution to the world, you would primarily get one
of two answers...
Mrs.
John L. Morris (Marjorie)
Institute
for the Humanities at Salado by Byron Browne
Dr. Harry Wilmer
Father
John Caskey - Galveston's Pied Piper by Bill Cherry
He insisted that Trinity begin an elementary school, so in 1952
Trinity Episcopal School was born..
.
Segregation
in Two Texas Towns by Robert G. Cowser
Ann
Whitney
Pioneer Schoolteacher
An
Influential Visit by Robert G. Cowser
"As a junior, I found myself on the teacher-certification track,
preparing to observe classes at the only high school in Commerce."
Rochester
Teacher by Mike Cox
School teaching has never been the best paying avocation, but the
terms of employment have definitely improved over the last century...
Kinkaid
School by Archie P. McDonald
Kinkaid School in Houston.
A.M.Aikin,
Jr. by Archie P. McDonald
"Texans might want to remember A.M. Aikin Jr., who helped drag
education and Texas into modern times..."
Austin
Grade School by Mike Cox
Austin had the first school in the state built entirely with public
funds.
Ela
Hockaday More Than a School Omarm by Archie P. McDonald
Founder of the Miss Hockaday School for Girls in Dallas
The
Gilmer-Aikin Law by Archie P. McDonald, PhD
The landmark law passed by the Texas legislature that brought the
state's educational system at least and at last into the twentieth
century.
Remembering
Integration by Bob Bowman (From "All Things Historical")
Historical Markers
Harper
Independent School District
Opinion/Humor
Urgent
calls from college by Jase Graves 4-4-23
Spring
Broke by Jase Graves 3-21-23
The
pen is sillier than the sword by Jase Graves 10-3-22
Advice
for College Freshpersons by Jase Graves
Back
to school . . . sort of by Jase Graves
College
Application by Peary Perry
"My wife and I were sitting on a swing on the upstairs porch
drinking coffee as we went over what you are about to read ....
I have to tell you both of our sides hurt from laughing so hard
.... I wish I could take credit for having written this ... but,
I can't...I do hope you find this as funny as we did ..."
Dumbing
Down of America by Peary Perry
"At this time we have approximately 30 million illiterate citizens
in this country. This is roughly 10% of our total population. You
know a large number of them passed through our school system. My
question is, how did they graduate if they could not read or write?"
Global
Decline in Math and Science by Peary Perry
Crimes
Murder
at a school by Bob Bowman
During the evening of March 12, 1926, as students and parents watched
a play at Center Point school in Trinity County...
School Days
Slow
Times at Amarillo High by Mike Cox
When the seniors who would graduate from Amarillo High School in
1942 showed up for their first day of classes, they and all their
underclassmates received an orange student handbook. The booklet
... included some things that would seem totaly bizarre to 12th
graders today, like dating dos and don’ts...
Cliff
notes on “Perils of Nyoka” by Wanda Orton
Hadn’t thought of “Perils of Nyoka” in years until a friend mentioned
that “Jurassic Park 2” reminded her of the riveting serial that
drew us to the picture show every Saturday. So taken were we kids
with these cliffhangers that we relived them every school day during
recess...
Linda
and the Texas City Explosion by Bill Cherry
It was Wednesday morning, April 6, 1947, probably about 10. The
Moon reading group was sitting in a circle at the front of the room.
Mrs. Carr was in the center. The children were taking turns reading
a story about Dick, Jane and Spot. The rest of us were supposed
to be drawing...
Bethel
School Days by Shirley Thompson Mohler
"Memories
of School Days in Gonzales" by Tillie McGill Bright
Busted
Flat in Jayton, Texas by Mary Mathias
"I will always treasure the years I lived where we had a sand storm
every Friday and where the people would get up in the middle of
the night to help people they didn’t know."
Special
Delivery by Robert G. Cowser
When I began the seventh grade at Saltillo, Paul Dodson, our teacher,
told us that the State Department of Education would present a certificate
to those students who read and reported on thirty books during the
school year...
Old-timers'
tales - true or not by Delbert Trew
A lady schoolteacher whose experiences included teaching during
the "dirty 30s" in a small country school told the following tale...
Remembering
school days by Bob Bowman
Few things stir the nostalgia of our lives as the days we spent
in our schools decades ago.
Competing
with Elvis in the Classroom by Robert Cowser
Elvis Presley and a band called the Blue Notes performed on the
stage of the Humble Oil Company’s recreation building in Hawkins
one evening in January, 1955...
Cujo
by George Lester
I suppose there was one in every class, in every school, everywhere
in the country. A class hero. We had one in our class at Eureka
School.
School
Days
J.T. Brown as told to Louise George
Class of 31 in Dumas
The
Reluctant Thespian by George Lester
"The first grade at Lorena Grade School was putting on a play.
The students had been selected to play various nursery rhyme characters.
There was “Little Bo Peep”, “Goldie Locks”, “Little Jack Horner”
and many more. ..."
On
the Way to School (Oral History) by Louise George
Mules
to School by George Lester
The
Smorgasbord by George Lester
A school lunch story
The
News in 1920 by Michael Barr
Poems by David Knape
Childproofing
a Poem 5-5-23
The
Poor
Forever
Taught
Back
to School
First
Day Of School
Cartoons by Roger Todd Moore
Mirabeau
Lamar established fund for public education
First
School Chartered, January 19, 1858
Texas
A and M - Galveston
First
free Texas schoolbooks
Forum
Talpa
ISD
I know of another
one room Texas school house in existence. It is in Culberson
county, north of Van
Horn. I know it exists, because it was my childhood school house
and my teachers have now converted it into their home. It sits at
the base of the Guadalupe Mtns. It was in use until about 1988.
- Erick Nance, December 08, 2010
Texas
School Districts websites list
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U.S. SCHOOLHOUSES
&
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