Westover School
Seymour, Baylor County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Westover School One-half mile east of this site is the location of the former Westover School, which served students in this part of Baylor County from 1910 until 1950. School classes first met in the Church of Christ building in Westover until trustees constructed a frame schoolhouse in 1911. Six years later, that building was replaced by a two-story brick building, which held all eleven grades and included seven classrooms, a library and an auditorium. Enrollment reached 400 students by the 1930s, but with abandonment of the rail line in 1942 and the general movement of people from rural areas after World War II, the student population declined, and Westover School closed in 1950. (2002)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Westover School served this corner of Baylor County from 1910 to 1950, beginning in the Church of Christ building before trustees put up a frame schoolhouse in 1911. A two-story brick building with seven classrooms, a library, and an auditorium replaced it in 1917, and enrollment reached 400 by the 1930s. The 1942 loss of the rail line and postwar rural flight thinned the student body until the school closed in 1950.
Why it matters
The school's arc mirrors the life and death of rural Texas farm communities, whose one-town schools rose and closed with the fortunes of the countryside.
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Themes & tags
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