Byers High School
Byers, Clay County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Land given to found school (first in north Clay County) by A. W. and G. W. Byers. First superintendent Edgar Haney, later legislator, promoted first independent school district laws. Rufus Rush, first graduate, later taught President Lyndon B. Johnson. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Established on land donated by A. W. and G. W. Byers, Byers High School was the first school in northern Clay County. Its first superintendent, Edgar Haney, went on to the legislature where he championed the state's earliest independent school district laws, while first graduate Rufus Rush later counted a young Lyndon B. Johnson among his own pupils. The campus was named a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1967.
Why it matters
Small-town schools like Byers seeded Texas public education and its governing laws, and their alumni networks reached surprisingly far—here, all the way to a future U.S. president's classroom.
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Related people
- · A. W. Byers
- · G. W. Byers
- · Edgar Haney
- · Rufus Rush
- · Lyndon B. Johnson
Themes & tags
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