Trinidad Independent School District
Trinidad, Henderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
TRINIDAD INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT THE TOWN OF TRINIDAD WAS FIRST KNOWN AS TRINITY SWITCH BECAUSE OF ITS LOCATION ON THE TRINITY RIVER. IN 1880, WHEN RESIDENTS APPLIED FOR A POST OFFICE, THE NAME WAS CHANGED TO TRINIDAD SINCE THERE WAS ANOTHER LOCATION BY THE SAME NAME. TRINIDAD’S FIRST SCHOOL OPENED IN 1888 IN A SMALL LOG HUT LOCATED ON THE N. ADDISON SURVEY THAT IS NOW KNOWN AS THE TRINIDAD CEMETERY. ONE YEAR LATER, THE TRINIDAD AND MANKIN SCHOOL DISTRICTS BUILT A LOG SCHOOL ABOUT ONE MILE NORTH OF TOWN KNOWN AS THE GADBERRY SCHOOL. IN 1894, THE TWO DISTRICTS DIVIDED AND THE TRINIDAD COMMON SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 6 WAS FORMED. SCHOOL WAS HELD IN A ONE-ROOM BUILDING ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE OLD CALVARY CHURCH. AROUND 1903, A NEW BUILDING WAS ERECTED THAT SERVED AS A SCHOOL AND THE METHODIST CHURCH. BY 1912, ENROLLMENT OUTGREW THE BUILDING AND LOTS WERE PURCHASED WHERE A THREE-ROOM SCHOOL WAS BUILT WITH SINGLE DESKS FOR THE STUDENTS, JACKETED STOVES AND A LARGE CLOAK ROOM. IN 1925, THE TP&L POWER PLANT OPENED IN TRINIDAD AND THE NEED FOR A LARGER SCHOOL BECAME EVIDENT. THE TRINIDAD INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT WAS FORMED BY THE 39TH LEGISLATURE AND, A YEAR LATER, THE NEW SCHOOL OPENED WITH K.B. ADAIR ELECTED AS THE SUPERINTENDENT. DURING THE LATE 1940s, PARENTS ORGANIZED THE PTA AND OPERATED SCHOOL HEALTH CLINICS. A GYMNASIUM WAS ADDED IN 1952. UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF COACH LEONARD ROLLINS, TRINIDAD WON THE REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN FOOTBALL IN 1954. THE SCHOOL BOARD INTEGRATED TRINIDAD SCHOOLS IN 1965 FOR GRADES ONE THROUGH TWELVE. FOR OVER A CENTURY, TRINIDAD SCHOOLS HAVE EDUCATED AND FOSTERED THE YOUTH OF HENDERSON COUNTY. (2012)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
First known as Trinity Switch for its spot on the Trinity River, the town became Trinidad in 1880 and opened its first school—a log hut—in 1888. Through a series of consolidations, new buildings and the arrival of the TP&L power plant in 1925, the district grew into the Trinidad Independent School District, adding a gymnasium in 1952 and a 1954 regional football championship. In 1965 the school board integrated Trinidad's schools across all grades.
Why it matters
The district's century-long story—from a one-room log school to integration in 1965—mirrors the evolution of public education and civil rights in small-town Texas.
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Related people
- · K.B. Adair
- · Leonard Rollins
Themes & tags
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