W. H. Adamson High School - Texas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

A newly-installed (2012) historic marker in front of the historic W. H. Adamson High School (formerly Oak Cliff High School) in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas.

From Wikipedia: (visit link)

"The school is named for W. H. Adamson, who became superintendent of the Oak Cliff School District shortly after moving to Oak Cliff in 1901. The school district later was annexed by the Dallas Independent School District, and when Oak Cliff High School was constructed, Adamson was named principal of the new school. He served as principal until 1934 and died a year later on 26 May 1935 at age 71. A week later, the school system renamed the school after Adamson.

Adamson High School was one of six high schools in Dallas in the 1930s and 1940s; the only other high school in Oak Cliff was Sunset High School, which was located about 19 blocks from Adamson High.

The location of Adamson High School is just four blocks from the Texas Theater where Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, was captured.

The 1924 Oak Cliff High School football team won the state championship, one of only two DISD high schools to win a state football title (Sunset, in 1950 with the now-discontinued "City" championship, is the other). Carter High School was forced to forfeit its 1988 Class AAAAA title.

Around 2009 DISD planned to raze Adamson. Some Adamson alumni created a movement to have Adamson declared a Dallas landmark so that the district will be unable to raze the existing campus.[6] DISD is acquiring other property so it can build the new Adamson.

On June 8, 2011, W. H. Adamson High School was granted historical status by the Dallas City Council. Additionally in June 2011 the school was listed on the National Register of Historic Places."

Marker Number: 17296 Marker Text: In 1891, the newly incorporated town of Oak Cliff voted to seek bids on a school building. The cornerstone was laid at Patton (then St. George) and 10th Streets for Oak Cliff central school in September 1892, under the auspices of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas. Due to overcrowding at Dallas High School, there was pressure to build a new high school. A state-of-the-art facility was constructed in 1915 at the corner of 9th and Beckley. The original building became an elementary school and was later torn down in 1926. When Principal W.H. Adamson, fondly referred to as “the grand old man of Oak Cliff,” died in May 1935, the school board voted to rename the school for him. He served as superintendent of schools and principal for a total of 34 years. Over the years, there have been additions and expansions to the building, including an auditorium, gym, and extra classrooms. Two renovations, murals on the second floor in 1934 and additional wings in 1938, were completed through new deal programs. The present front façade of the W.H. Adamson High School building remains the same as it has since its opening with the exception of the windows, which were originally white-painted wood. Over the years, W.H. Adamson High School has graduated many national, state, and local leaders and served as a center of community activity and support. It is one of the earliest schools in Dallas county, and is the oldest continuously operating high school in the Dallas Independent School District. The institution continues to be a hub of learning in its community and represents the commitment of the area to secondary school education. (2012) Marker is Property of the State of Texas

Visit Instructions:
Please include a picture in your log. You and your GPS receiver do not need to be in the picture. We encourage additional information about your visit (comments about the surrounding area, how you ended up near the marker, etc.) in the log.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   10/27/2018 WalksfarTX visited it 01/10/2015 texaslibra visited it 12/22/2013 Benchmark Blasterz visited it

View all visits/logs