Richards Colored School
Richards, Grimes County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In the mid-1800s, area African-American children attended school in nearby Longstreet. The first school in Richards began in St. Thomas Methodist Episcopal Church circa 1913. School moved to the Masonic Lodge Hall before a two-story schoolhouse with auditorium was built near the railroad tracks. Basketball was the primary sporting activity, and county fairs featured competition in agriculture, poetry recital and spelling bees. Fire destroyed three separate schoolhouses from 1920 to 1937. In the 1930s, Richards Colored School absorbed schools from Longstreet and Pineywoods. A new school was built in 1938 and renamed in 1962 for longtime principal, teacher and coach W. E. Hall. It closed in 1966 when schools in Richards integrated. 175 years of Texas Independence * 1836-2011
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Schooling for Richards' African American children began around 1913 in St. Thomas Methodist Episcopal Church, then moved to the Masonic Lodge Hall and later a two-story schoolhouse near the railroad. Fire repeatedly destroyed the buildings between 1920 and 1937, yet the school endured, absorbing nearby communities and offering everything from basketball to spelling bees and county-fair competitions. A new school built in 1938 was renamed in 1962 for longtime principal and coach W. E. Hall, and it closed in 1966 when Richards schools integrated.
Why it matters
The school's story documents the determination of a rural Black community to educate its children under segregation, and the closing of such schools at integration marks a pivotal turn in the civil rights era.
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Related people
- · W. E. Hall
Themes & tags
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