Sam Houston School
Marshall, Harrison County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Marshall School Board purchased two acres here in 1903 as the site for this 8-room brick school building designed by prominent architect C. G. Lancaster. Originally called the "East Side School" it opened to Anglo students in 1905. The school initially offered elementary classes to students in Marshall's expanding eastern sector and for 2 years offered a high school curriculum for students throughout the community. It was renamed Sam Houston School in the early 1920s and continued to serve the community until it was closed by the school district in 1981.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Marshall school board bought this two-acre site in 1903 and opened an eight-room brick schoolhouse, designed by architect C. G. Lancaster, in 1905. First known as the East Side School and serving Anglo children in the town's growing eastern district, it was renamed for Sam Houston in the early 1920s. It taught local students for more than seventy-five years before closing in 1981.
Why it matters
Neighborhood schools like this one anchored community life in early-twentieth-century Texas towns, and its whites-only origins are a plain reminder of the segregated system that shaped Southern public education for generations.
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Related people
- · C. G. Lancaster
- · Sam Houston
Themes & tags
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