Leesville School
Leesville, Gonzales County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Settled prior to the Civil War, the community of Leesburg, later known as Leesville, was a thriving trade and supply center for the region when this one-room brick schoolhouse was constructed in 1868. The building site was conveyed to stockholders of the Leesburg Male and Female Institute in 1873 by Mrs. M. C. Hubbard. The original materials used in the construction of the schoolhouse were provided locally. Red clay bricks for the exterior were manufactured in a kiln east of the site, the lumber came from the Daniel Brown Sawmill located on nearby O'Neill Creek, and local residents provided the labor. As the community grew, wooden additions to the building, since removed, were constructed. Classes were held here until 1918, when a new schoolhouse was built. In the 1920s the building was adapted for uses as a community center and was the site of various civic functions, including oyster fries, barbecues, and religious meetings. Later it was used as a school lunchroom and a private residence. Rebuilt as a community center, the Leesville School serves as a reminder of the proud heritage of the area's early residents. (1982)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Settled before the Civil War, the Gonzales County town of Leesburg — later Leesville — was a busy trade center when this one-room brick schoolhouse went up in 1868, with the site deeded to the Leesburg Male and Female Institute in 1873. Everything came from close by: red bricks fired in a nearby kiln, lumber from the Daniel Brown Sawmill on O'Neill Creek, and labor from local residents. Classes ran until 1918, after which the building served as community center, lunchroom, and even a private home before being restored.
Why it matters
A rare surviving nineteenth-century brick schoolhouse built entirely from local materials and labor, it embodies how frontier communities pooled their own hands and resources to educate their children.
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Related people
- · M. C. Hubbard
Themes & tags
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