G. W. Carver High School
Waco, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
G.W. Carver High School was built to provide an educational facility for African Americans in the La Vega School District. The school was named in honor of George Washington Carver, a well-known African American scientist, botanist, educator and inventor. The doors of the school opened on September 5, 1956 at 1601 Dripping Springs Road, a street later renamed after the school’s first and only principal, J.J. Flewellen. Some 500 African American children in grades one through twelve were enrolled in the school. In 1963, grades one through five were moved to a new school, Dripping Springs Elementary at 2401 Dripping Springs Road, and the remaining grades stayed at the original location. The students excelled in numerous events including an award-winning marching band. In 1967, the band, under the direction of Mr. Robert E. Lee, traveled to Montreal, Canada to take part in the world’s fair, known as expo ’67. They took home the marching band grand prize of $1,000 and two trophies for “best high school band” and “champion American high school band.” Carver was closed in 1970 after the federal courts ordered school integration and remained closed until the Waco Independent School District (WISD), who acquired the building when it took in east Waco, offered the building as a community space to the non-profit operations of the blue triangle YMCA and the Inner City Ministries’ Meals On Wheels program. WISD reacquired the building in 1980 as a special education facility and, in 1984, the old Carver High became the Carver Sixth Grade Center. In the fall of 1993, the school was renamed Carver Academy, a magnet school for science and technology. In 2012, G. W. Carver became a neighborhood school.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Opened in 1956, G. W. Carver High School educated some 500 African American children of the La Vega district and honored the famed scientist and educator George Washington Carver. Its students excelled, and in 1967 its award-winning marching band traveled to Montreal's Expo '67 and carried home the grand prize as champion American high school band. The school closed in 1970 when federal courts ordered integration, then lived on as a community center, special-education site, and finally a neighborhood school.
Why it matters
Carver's rise and its closing under desegregation orders capture both the pride of segregated Black schools and the wrenching transformation of American education during the civil rights era.
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Related people
- · George Washington Carver
- · J. J. Flewellen
- · Robert E. Lee
Related events
- · Expo '67
- · Court-ordered school integration (1970)
Themes & tags
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