County Line School
Point, Rains County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1842, John Garrett, a farmer and rancher from Arkansas, moved his family to this area. It became known as "County Line Prairie" or "Garrett's Prairie." In 1897, commissioners established County Line School as Rains County's third district after the original school burned. Lige Garrett designed a new two-story building at this site. For a time, Woodmen of the World used the second floor for meetings. As the community grew, more functions were held at the school, including club meetings, church activities and other events such as the County Line New Year's Stew, which began in 1908 and continues to this day. Even though the school building is now gone, there were many lives affected by the tiny East Texas school. (2014)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Settlement of this East Texas prairie began in the 1840s when a farming family from Arkansas moved in, lending their name to the area. In 1897 county commissioners established County Line School as an early district, and a two-story building rose here that soon served the whole community — hosting a fraternal lodge upstairs, club and church gatherings, and a New Year's stew tradition that has outlasted the school itself.
Why it matters
The rural schoolhouse was the civic center of countless American farm communities, and its enduring traditions show how such places knit generations together long after the building is gone.
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Related people
- · John Garrett
- · Lige Garrett
Themes & tags
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