The Looney School
Gilmer, Upshur County, Texas
Marker Inscription
During the years of 1860-70 in Gilmer, Morgan H. Looney had a school widely known for high academic standards, attracting many East Texas boarding pupils. Site was 4 blocks to the north. Boys and girls had separate entrances, separate study halls kept by teacher on a platform. Socials were held once a month. People there achieved fame later. O. M. Roberts, a teacher, was governor, Supreme Court chief justice. 3 girls married governors. Charles Culberson, later governor and U. S. Senator, was one of many students who made great achievements.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Through the turbulent Civil War decade, Morgan H. Looney ran a school in Gilmer whose reputation for rigor drew boarding students from across East Texas. With separate entrances and study halls for boys and girls and monthly socials to break the discipline, the academy became a nursery for Texas leadership. Its alumni and teachers went on to become governors, a state supreme court chief justice, and a U.S. senator.
Why it matters
The Looney School shows how a single frontier academy could shape a generation of political leaders, underscoring the outsized role of education in a still-young Texas.
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Related people
- · Morgan H. Looney
- · O. M. Roberts
- · Charles Culberson
Themes & tags
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