George Washington Carver High School
Navasota, Grimes County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Around 1865, reverend J.J. Reinhart established the Navasota Colored School for African American students. After several buildings were destroyed by fire, a brick building was built in 1942. A few years later, the school became officially known as George Washington Carver High School. After Navasota High School fully integrated in 1968, the building served as an elementary and later middle school until 1974. In August 1996, the building reopened as the Carver Learning Center for Alternative Education. In 2008, the school district deeded the building to the school’s alumni association. It now serves as the Carver Community Center for tutorials, summer camps, and other events. (2017)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Around 1865, Rev. J.J. Reinhart established the Navasota Colored School to educate African American children just as slavery ended. After repeated fires, a sturdy brick building rose in 1942 and was soon named for the celebrated Black scientist George Washington Carver. When Navasota schools integrated in 1968 the building lived on as an elementary and middle school, and today it serves the community as the Carver Community Center.
Why it matters
From a Reconstruction-era freedmen's school to a living community center, the site charts the long African American struggle for education across a full century of Texas history.
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Related people
- · J.J. Reinhart
- · George Washington Carver
Themes & tags
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