Site of Baursville School
Moulton, Lavaca County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Early settlers August Baur (1841-1902) and his wife Emilie (1848-1901) donated five acres about 1.5 miles north of this site for a community school in 1881. A one-room school building was erected shortly thereafter. Because many students who first attended the school were members of German and Czech families who settled this area, instruction initially was offered in both the German and English languages. Tuition charges and private donations supported the school for about five months of the year. The school building was also the site of religious services held by the Rev. Wilhelm Westerhoff of Moulton's Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church. In 1892 severe storm damage to the school building prompted local citizens to erect a new three-room structure here which they named Concordia School No. 33. After becoming a public school in 1895, its name was changed to Baursville for August Baur who was also recognized as the founder of the community. The Baursville School building was renovated in 1927. At its height the school offered instruction in ten grades for about 95 students. The school continued to serve students in the rural Baursville area until 1951 when it was annexed to the Moulton Independent School District. The school building was later razed. 1994
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Around 1881 the German-born settlers August and Emilie Baur donated five acres for a school in this Lavaca County community, and a one-room building soon followed. Because so many pupils came from German and Czech immigrant families, early lessons were taught in both German and English. Rebuilt after an 1892 storm and again renovated in 1927, the school taught up to ten grades and about 95 students before consolidating into the Moulton district in 1951.
Why it matters
The bilingual little schoolhouse records how German and Czech immigrants planted their languages and communities on the Texas prairie and how rural schools slowly merged into the modern system.
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Related people
- · August Baur
- · Emilie Baur
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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