Linnie Roberts Elementary School
Bay City, Matagorda County, Texas
Marker Inscription
By 1894, Matagorda County had 20 African American schools with more than 700 students. The first school for African American children in Bay City was a one-room frame building donated by one of the railroad companies. In 1905, the community built a new school at Avenue A and Second Street named in honor of noted African American educator Booker T. Washington. One of the long-time teachers at Booker T. Washington, later known as Hilliard School, was Linnie (McHenry) Roberts (1893-1956). She was born in the Caney area of the county and attended Samuel Huston College in Austin and Prairie View A&M College. Linnie Roberts taught elementary school classes for 32 years, earning respect from colleagues and students through her caring actions and community support. Linnie retired in 1955 and is buried next to her husband at Eastview Cemetery in Bay City. The city's population continued to grow and, by 1960, the school board made plans to construct a new school. The Houston architectural firm of Koetter and Tharp designed the one-story building with three wings in a U-shaped plan, built of steel framing and faced with red brick in running bond pattern. The school included 21 classrooms plus cafeteria, library and offices. In April 1961, the school board announced that the new facility would be named Linnie Roberts Elementary School; it opened in September 1961 with 471 students and 17 teachers for grades one through six. Over the years, the school was used for various grades with minimal changes to the exterior, retaining architectural integrity of the postwar institutional design. The school building remains as a reminder of the impact of Linnie Roberts and her significance in the community. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2020
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
By 1894 Matagorda County counted twenty African American schools serving more than 700 children, and Bay City's first — a donated one-room frame building — grew into a school named for Booker T. Washington. Among its long-serving teachers was Linnie McHenry Roberts, a Prairie View–educated educator who taught elementary classes for 32 years and earned wide respect for her care of students and community. In 1961 the school board opened a modern brick school and named it in her honor, a building that still stands as a tribute to her legacy.
Why it matters
Black educators built and sustained learning for their communities under segregation, and honoring Linnie Roberts in brick and name records both that struggle and the dignity of a teaching life.
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Related people
- · Linnie McHenry Roberts
- · Booker T. Washington
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Bay City's African-American community opened a school in the 1890s and by 1905 had grown it into a two-story frame building named for Booker T. Washington and folded into the local district. Its guiding figure was A. G. Hilliard, son of formerly enslaved Georgians who prized education; trained at the Oakland Normal School and Prairie View, he taught and led the school for decades until it was renamed in his honor after his death in 1936. A new campus by architect Wyatt C. Hedrick opened here in 1948 and served as Hilliard High until integration in 1967.
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