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Site of Concord School

Liberty Hill, Williamson County, Texas

Marker Inscription

First settled in the 1850s, this area boasted a school named Clear Creek by 1857. Concord School was established in nearby Brizendine Mills in 1883. By 1888 the Concord School was located in the Bear Creek settlement, succeeding the Clear Creek School. In 1896 H. N. Elliott and J. E. Elliott gave their land on the shore of Bear Creek for the site of a one-room schoolhouse. A new structure was added in 1921, and the facility was expanded as necessary. Enrollment peaked at 133 in the 1930s, but the school declined in the 1940s as enrollment dropped and young men and women departed to participate in the war effort. Graduates of the Concord School served Williamson County, the State of Texas, and the nation. (1999)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

In country first settled in the 1850s, a succession of one-room schools — Clear Creek, then Concord — served the scattered families of the Bear Creek settlement. In 1896 the Elliott family donated land on the creek for a schoolhouse that grew as enrollment climbed to 133 by the 1930s. The school faded in the 1940s as young people left for the war effort.

Why it matters

Concord represents the small rural schools that educated frontier Williamson County before consolidation swept them away.

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Related people

  • · H. N. Elliott
  • · J. E. Elliott

Themes & tags

EducationSchool

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