Iowa Park Consolidated Independent School District
Iowa Park, Wichita County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The first school building in Iowa Park was erected in 1888, soon after the town was platted. Iowa Park was in Wichita County Rural School District No. 7 until it became an independent school district in 1899. The school grew to four rooms but soon was inadequate for the growing student population. New brick structures were erected in 1901 and 1916. Superintendent W. R. Bradford sought accreditation for the district and achieved this goal in 1921. At that time there were 11 teachers and 495 students; by the 1925-1926 school year there were 25 teachers and 595 students. The new W. F. George High School, built in 1924, had 13 classrooms, a laboratory, office, library and an 800-seat auditorium. The 1916 structure became the Ward School for Elementary Students. Works Progress Administration funds made possible the erection of a new elementary school with a cafeteria in 1940. Five rural school districts consolidated with Iowa Park in 1941, and the campus grew with the student body. In 1960 Ethyle Kidwell Elementary was the first school to move off the original campus. W. R. Bradford Elementary opened in 1963. Iowa Park High School opened on a new campus in 1970, the same year Valley View schools joined with Iowa Park to form the Iowa Park Consolidated Independent School District. By the end of the 20th century, Iowa Park schools had expanded from one room to five campuses. With more than 2,000 students, the school district continues to provide a quality education. (1999)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Iowa Park raised its first schoolhouse in 1888, just after the town was platted, and became an independent district in 1899. Through brick schoolhouses, the 1924 W. F. George High School, and New Deal-funded construction, the district grew alongside the town, absorbing five rural districts in 1941 and spreading across new campuses in the postwar decades. From a single room it expanded to five campuses serving more than 2,000 students.
Why it matters
Its steady growth mirrors the way public schooling knit together and sustained small towns across North Texas.
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Related people
- · W. R. Bradford
Themes & tags
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