Thompson School
Sweet Home, Lavaca County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Rural schools served as the major source of education for children outside of larger towns in Lavaca county. Thompson school served the community south of Mont in Lavaca county. The town of Dew-Cox, or Needmore, changed its name to Monseratte in 1894 which was later shortened to Mont. When the rail line came through the area, a gin and a store were built nearby. In 1891, the old rocky creek school was torn down and moved near the new railroad. Thompson school came into existence because of the rail line and no school existed within walking distance for residents in the area. F.M. Thompson deeded the school trustees of school district no. 12 a parcel of land for the purpose of establishing a school. The school opened in 1895 with ruby lay as the teacher. Students walked through fields and pastures to get to school and were responsible for daily maintenance of the school. F.M. Thompson died in November 1896 and his wife Mary died august 1918 without a will. The land reverted back to the Thompson family when the school moved in 1904. The second school came into existence on a parcel of land deeded by L. Jaresh. In 1919, a second classroom was added and additional improvements made in 1923. In 1935, A.W. Jaresh deeded an additional one half acre to the school. The second school was torn down and a third school built on the same property. The school operated until 1959 when it consolidated with Hallettsville independent school district. The school is a historical snapshot of the reason rural schools came into existence and their service to the community.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Rural schools were the main source of learning for Lavaca County children beyond the larger towns, and Thompson School owed its very existence to the railroad that drew a gin and store to the community once called Needmore. F. M. Thompson deeded land for the school, which opened in 1895 with Ruby Lay teaching children who walked across fields and helped maintain the building themselves. Through land reversions and rebuildings, the school carried on across three successive buildings until it consolidated with the Hallettsville district in 1959.
Why it matters
Thompson School is a snapshot of why rural schools existed at all: where no town and no other school lay within walking distance, a community built its own.
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Related people
- · F. M. Thompson
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Established in 1887, Vysehrad School took its name—meaning "high castle"—from the Czech heritage of the farming families who settled Lavaca County. Frank Jakubik taught the first classes before the original building burned in 1905 and was replaced by a two-room schoolhouse. Through decades of growth and consolidation with neighboring schools, Vysehrad endured as an independent district serving more than thirty square miles.
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St. Mary's Parish
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Brown School
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