Bellville High School
Bellville, Austin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Bellville’s 1918 two-story brick schoolhouse served all grades, but by the 1930s had overcrowding and structural problems. An initial application for funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA), a federal New Deal program, was denied in 1936. After H.F. Granau led 40 citizens in signing a petition, the board of trustees voted to issue bonds for $50,000, and a second application to the PWA secured an additional $58,000. Blum E. Hester was the architect and A.N. Evans was the contractor for a new high school and gymnasium (also used as an auditorium), which opened in 1939 with U.S. Senator Tom Connally making the dedicatory address. The facility was the high school until 1970, then served other grades and school used until being renovated in 2006 as the school district’s administration building and BISD school museum. (2018)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Bellville's growing student body outgrew its 1918 brick schoolhouse by the 1930s, but a first bid for federal New Deal money was rejected in 1936. A citizens' petition and a bond issue finally unlocked Public Works Administration funds, and a new high school and gymnasium opened in 1939, dedicated by U.S. Senator Tom Connally. The building served as the high school until 1970 and today houses the school district's offices and museum.
Why it matters
The school shows how New Deal public-works dollars, unlocked by local initiative, reshaped small-town America and left durable civic buildings still in use today.
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Related people
- · Tom Connally
- · H.F. Granau
- · Blum E. Hester
Themes & tags
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