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 Van Common School
N 32° 31.517 W 095° 37.796
15S E 252977 N 3601710
Texas Historical Marker at 549 E Texas St, Van, TX, noting the origins and early rocky history of the Van Common School. Today, this old building serves as the administration building of the Van Independent School District.
Waymark Code: WMQ0P3
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 11/24/2015
Views: 6
Van experienced an EF3 tornado on May 10, 2015, and this school building was right in its path. At present, a fence surrounds the building while repairs continue. As with any school campus -- remember that we live in interesting times -- please restrict visits to times when school is not in session, or when workers are not present.
Marker Number: 16395
Marker Text:
In 1916, Swindall and Spring Hill Schools were consolidated to form Van Common School. Money raised with a bond election and state aid enabled the district to build a new school on five acres less than one mile east of Van. In order to reduce costs, community members agreed to haul at no expense 114 wagon loads of construction materials to the building site from the railhead at Grand Saline, 13 miles away. The school opened with 95 students and four teachers: Prof. E.C. Tunnell, Prof. E.R. Tunnell, Miss Eula Fowler and Miss Lucy Brawner. The school served the needs of the community until a May 1928 fire destroyed the building. A June ballot measure approved the issuance of bonds in the amount of $3,000. This amount and the $3,500 insurance payment enabled the district to rebuild a school that was ready for the start of the 1928-1929 school year at the same site.
The 1929-1930 school year began with 90 pupils. However, the discovery of oil on October 14, 1929, less than a mile from the school, dramatically changed the school district as well as the entire community. School administrators and board members knew that they needed to plan ahead for massive community growth. Another contribution to the disruptions in the school district's operations was the oil drilling on school property, approximately 500 feet from the building. The school building was temporarily moved to an adjacent site, but an election was held in 1931 in order to secure funding for a greatly expanded school site to accommodate the population explosion that occurred as a result of the discovery of oil in Van. (2010)
Marker is Property of the State of Texas
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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.
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