Site of Old Anderson High School, Kealing Junior High School
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Robertson Hill School, the first high school for blacks in Austin, opened on the corner of Eleventh and San Marcos streets in 1884. In 1907 the school moved to the corner of Olive and Curve Streets and was renamed E. H. Anderson High School. In 1913 the school was moved to 1607 Pennsylvania Avenue. It was renamed in honor of former Principal L. C. Anderson in 1938. In 1953 the school relocated to 900 Thompson Street. Anderson High School opened in its fifth location, 8403 Mesa, in 1973. Kealing Junior High School was opened in 1930 on this site. Named for educator Hightower Theodore Kealing (1859-1918), it was the first junior high school for blacks in the city, and had an initial enrollment of 337. When reenrollment increased, the school expanded into the former Anderson High School in 1954. The two buildings, known as East Kealing and West Kealing, were joined in 1962. The school was closed in 1971 due to court-ordered desegregation. The original Kealing Junior High School building was razed in 1983, amd the old Anderson High School on this site burned in 1984. A new Kealing Junior High was built and opened in 1986. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Austin's first high school for Black students opened in 1884 as Robertson Hill School and, through several moves and renamings, became L. C. Anderson High School, honoring a longtime principal. Kealing Junior High, the city's first junior high for Black students, opened on this site in 1930, named for educator Hightower Theodore Kealing, and later merged with the Anderson buildings. The schools here closed in 1971 under court-ordered desegregation, and the old buildings were later razed or lost to fire.
Why it matters
These institutions were the heart of Black education in segregated Austin, and their story runs straight through the long American struggle from segregation to desegregation.
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Related people
- · L. C. Anderson
- · Hightower Theodore Kealing
Related events
- · school desegregation
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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