Slaughter School
Edgewood, Van Zandt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
POPULATION GROWTH ALONG THE DALLAS-SHREVEPORT ROAD DURING THE LATE 19TH CENTURY BROUGHT ABOUT THE NEED FOR A SCHOOL IN THIS PORTION OF VAN ZANDT COUNTY. ALTHOUGH IT IS KNOWN THAT SLAUGHTER SCHOOL EXISTED BY 1883 AT A DIFFERENT LOCATION, IN 1888, ELIZABETH SLAUGHTER CONVEYED A ONE ACRE SITE 2.5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF EDGEWOOD TO TRUSTEES JAMES P. RAINEY, G.R. POPE AND W.D. WHITFIELD FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF SLAUGHTER SCHOOL. BY 1891, THE EDGEWOOD SCHOOL SHARED THE BUILDING AND THE TOTAL ENROLLMENT WAS 46 STUDENTS. AT A LATER UNKNOWN DATE, THE SLAUGHTER SCHOOL WAS CONSOLIDATED WITH THE EDGEWOOD DISTRICT. SLAUGHTER SCHOOL SERVED AS AN IMPORTANT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION DURING ITS SHORT EXISTENCE.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
As settlement thickened along the Dallas–Shreveport Road in the late 1800s, this part of Van Zandt County needed a school. Slaughter School existed by 1883, and in 1888 Elizabeth Slaughter conveyed a one-acre site to trustees for its construction southwest of Edgewood. By 1891 it shared its building with the Edgewood school and enrolled forty-six pupils, before eventually consolidating into the Edgewood district.
Why it matters
The little schoolhouse embodies the way rural Texas communities pooled donated land and shared buildings to bring education to the children of scattered farm families.
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Related people
- · Elizabeth Slaughter
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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