Forney High School Building
Forney, Kaufman County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Forney's first schoolhouse was built here about 1868, and its first general store was built nearby by pioneer settler John C. McKellar in 1871. This building was erected by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938-39. Designed by WPA architect Hoke Smith, the Spanish Colonial revival style structure features a tile roof, multi-light windows, buff brick, and wrought iron and cast stone details. A high school was housed here until 1974 and a middle school until 1993. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1995
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Forney's earliest schoolhouse rose on this ground about 1868, near the general store pioneer settler John C. McKellar built in 1871. The present building, a Spanish Colonial Revival design by WPA architect Hoke Smith, was erected by the Works Progress Administration in 1938–39 with a tile roof, buff brick, and wrought-iron detail. It served as a high school into 1974 and a middle school until 1993.
Why it matters
As a New Deal–era WPA school, it embodies the federal public-works effort that reshaped small-town America during the Great Depression.
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Related people
- · Hoke Smith
- · John C. McKellar
Related events
- · Works Progress Administration construction (1938–39)
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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