Blanton School
Wolfe City, Hunt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1912, African American educator Booker T. Washington partnered with Julius Rosenwald, President of Sears, Roebuck & Company, to build schools for African American children in poor rural communities across the south. Rosenwald matched funds raised by the African American community and school district of Wolfe City to build Blanton School in 1923. This unusual cooperation between wealthy philanthropists, black citizens, and white officials was a hallmark of the Rosenwald program. Blanton School followed standard Rosenwald designs which maximized space and made use of natural lighting and ventilation. Until the 1950s, the school was located outside the city limits and did not have access to sewer or natural gas lines. The school calendar was organized around the cotton season, allowing students to work in the fields during fall harvests. Blanton had only three teachers for 70 students ranging from first to eighth grade. Graduates of Blanton School attended Farmers’ Improvement School in nearby Ladonia or St. Paul’s High School in Neylandville. Blanton continued to serve the African American community until Wolfe City schools integrated in 1965. The Blanton School was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 but was later demolished. It was the last of the three Rosenwald Schools built in Hunt County to remain standing. The school taught students both educational and life skills. Although opportunities for higher education were limited, many Blanton alumni earned Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. Degrees.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1923, Blanton School was one of thousands of schools for Black children created through the partnership of educator Booker T. Washington and Sears president Julius Rosenwald, who matched funds raised by the local African American community. Its design maximized natural light and ventilation, and its calendar bent to the cotton harvest so students could work the fields each fall. With just three teachers for seventy students in grades one through eight, it served Wolfe City's Black families until Hunt County schools integrated in 1965.
Why it matters
As the last of Hunt County's three Rosenwald Schools to stand, Blanton embodied a remarkable alliance of Black citizens, philanthropists, and white officials to educate children the segregated South otherwise neglected—and its graduates' later degrees testify to what that investment made possible.
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Related people
- · Booker T. Washington
- · Julius Rosenwald
Related events
- · Rosenwald school-building program
- · Integration of Wolfe City schools (1965)
Themes & tags
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