Site of Pecan Springs School
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In community where scalping and dramatic rescue of Josiah Wilbarger occurred in 1833. By 1875 area had developed so much that a schoolhouse was built at this site. Original 30 x 40-foot structure was set on 4.68 acres of land. A Mr. Goodnight was the first teacher; he had 85 pupils in one-room school. Later, under county system, this became District Number 61. Its southern boundary was the Colorado River. By 1943 it had six teachers. It was annexed to Austin in 1951; closed in 1956. (1973)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This site sits in the community where settler Josiah Wilbarger survived a scalping in a dramatic 1833 rescue, a story emblematic of the dangers of the early Texas frontier. By 1875 the area had grown enough to warrant a schoolhouse, a 30-by-40-foot building on nearly five acres where a Mr. Goodnight taught 85 children in a single room. Later known as District 61 with the Colorado River as its southern boundary, Pecan Springs School grew to six teachers before it was annexed to Austin in 1951 and closed in 1956.
Why it matters
Pecan Springs traces one plot of ground from frontier peril to established one-room schoolhouse to absorption into a growing city—a compact record of how rural Texas communities matured and were folded into urban Austin.
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Related people
- · Josiah Wilbarger
Related events
- · Scalping and rescue of Josiah Wilbarger (1833)
Themes & tags
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