Pleasant Hill School
Brenham, Washington County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Originally the town of Krug, the community of Pleasant Hill is located in southernmost Washington County. As more settlers moved to the area, the need for schools emerged in rural parts of the county. Pleasant Hill School was located on two different sites, according to school records. The first was in Krug and was a one-room wood structure with a small front porch, typical of rural Texas schools of the time. In 1911, the school was classified as an intermediate school with one teacher. The second site was purchased in 1918 and was located on the corner of Pleasant Hill School Road and Dierking Road. Funds from the Rural Aid Fund were used to erect a new building. Pleasant Hill School remained small until it merged with the Wonder Hill School and Salem School in 1954. Through the consolidation process, land ownership passed to the Brenham Independent School District and was then sold to a private owner. Students of the Pleasant Hill School recall riding their horses to school each day and participating in community activities such as gathering scrap iron on the playground and knitting quilt squares for the war effort. Trustees, teachers and parents gathered in the summer months to repair and maintain the school, and many volunteered to provide transportation to and from classes and activities. Dedicated to the education of their children, the community devoted time and energy to the school in the hopes that their descendants would have access to more educational opportunities. (2016)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The community once called Krug grew into Pleasant Hill as settlers filled the southern reaches of Washington County and needed schools for their children. The first Pleasant Hill School was a one-room wood building with a small porch, typical of rural Texas; a second site in 1918 got a new building funded through the state's Rural Aid Fund. Students rode horses to class and pitched in on community projects until the school merged with neighbors in 1954. Parents and teachers gave their summers to keep the little schoolhouse standing, determined that their children would have a fuller education.
Why it matters
The one-room country school embodies the sacrifices rural communities made for education, and its 1954 consolidation reflects the nationwide disappearance of small local schools.
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Related events
- · School consolidation of 1954
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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