Scrub Creek School
Groveton, Trinity County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Settlement of this area of Trinity County began after the Civil War. The farming communities of Scrub Creek and Crecy grew gradually, and as people moved into the area they established homes and community gathering places. The Scrub Creek Baptist Church was in operation as early as 1870. It was followed by the Scrub Creek School and Crecy post office, located in Chapman's General Store. The earliest documented record of the Scrub Creek School dates to 1877. It began as a one-room structure with one teacher in instruct students in all grades. As the local population increased, the school grew and was housed in a three-room facility with several teachers. The school became an integral part of community life in Scrub Creek and Crecy. Numerous events and activities occurred at the schoolhouse, which served as the center of social activity as well as education. The school was closed in 1935 when it was consolidated with other rural schools in the county to form the Centerville School District. The schoolhouse burned and the property reverted to the descendants of J.L. Mangnum, who had sold the land for school purposes in 1907. (1991)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
After the Civil War, farming families drifted into this corner of Trinity County, founding the small communities of Scrub Creek and Crecy around a Baptist church, a general-store post office, and a school. Documented from 1877, the Scrub Creek School began as a single room with one teacher for all grades and grew to a three-room building as the population rose. For decades the schoolhouse doubled as the social heart of the community until consolidation closed it in 1935.
Why it matters
The rural one-room school was the civic and social anchor of countless postbellum farming communities, embodying how frontier settlements organized education and community life.
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Related people
- · J.L. Mangnum
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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