Blackwell School
N 30° 18.353 W 104° 01.340
13R E 594005 N 3353085
The state historic marker in front of the former Blackwell School in Marfa
Waymark Code: WMTY8A
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/22/2017
Views: 2
The first and only school for Hispanic children in Marfa until 1965, the Blackwell School is located at 501 S Abbot Street in marfa.
Marker Number: 16572
Marker Text:
Education for local children of Mexican descent dates from 1889, when the former Methodist church became a schoolhouse. The school, named for longtime principal Jesse Blackwell, served hundreds of Hispanic children up to ninth grade. Students were told to speak only English on campus; Spanish words written on slips of paper were buried on the grounds in a mock funeral ceremony. The school closed in 1965 with integration of Marfa schools. The building sat vacant until preservation efforts by the Blackwell School Alliance, formed in 2006. The one-story schoolhouse has a modified hip roof, front-gabled entry, and plastered 24-inch thick adobe walls on a stone foundation.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2010
Marker is property of the State of Texas
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