Wheeler School
Richardson, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Kentuckian William J. (Uncle Billy) Wheeler came to this part of Texas soon after the end of the Civil War. In 1870 he deeded land to the Houston and Texas Central Railway for the townsite that became the city of Richardson and for the railroad right-of-way. In 1880 Wheeler provided a public school just northwest of this site for Richardson area children. After the Wheeler Schoolhouse burned in 1900, classes moved into a new, two-story, four-room, structure on this site. By this time the Richardson Independent School District had been created. In 1914 the frame schoolhouse was replaced with a two-story, red brick structure. The eight-room schoolhouse was staffed by five teachers. In 1927 two wings were added to house the increased enrollment brought about by the consolidation of the Richardson and Addison High schools. Further consolidation of surrounding common school districts in the 1930s and a population boom in the 1950s expanded school enrollment and created the need for other facilities. The red brick schoolhouse served only elementary grades from 1952 until 1960, when it began to serve as the district administration building. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
'Uncle Billy' Wheeler helped found Richardson itself, deeding land for the railroad townsite after the Civil War and, in 1880, providing a school for area children. The schoolhouse rebuilt and grew with the town—from a two-story frame building after an 1900 fire, to a red-brick structure in 1914, to added wings for consolidations in the 1920s and 30s—before becoming the district's administration building in 1960.
Why it matters
The school traces how a rural railroad settlement matured into a modern suburban city, with public education growing alongside it.
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Related people
- · William J. "Uncle Billy" Wheeler
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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