Black Education in Chambers County - Texas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Marker Number: 13808
Marker Title: Black Education in Chambers County
Index Entry: Black Education in Chambers County
Address: 1222 Main St
City: Anahuac
County: Chambers
UTM Zone: 15
UTM Easting: 338273
UTM Northing: 3295017
Subject Codes: educational topics; African American topics
Year Marker Erected: 2005
Designations: na
Marker Location: 1222 Main St
Marker Size: 27" x 42"

Marker Number: 13808 Marker Text: The Texas Legislature formed Chambers County in 1858, and Wallisville became the county's first seat of government. The 1869 Texas Constitution called for the creation of free public schools for white and black children to be partially funded by the state. That same year, the Freedmen's Bureau was instrumental in having a school for African American students built in Wallisville. The one-room schoolhouse, later used for other purposes, served students for many years. During the 1879-1880 school year, approximately 60 students attended classes there. By the late 1880s, the county's African American students were served by schools in Double Bayou, Wallisville, Black Branch, Turtle Bayou, Old River and Cedar Bayou. Like many early Texas schools, each organized annually, and the school year was determined by how many months a community could pay a teacher. At the turn of the century, Chambers County supported 28 schools and more than 800 students, black and white. At that time, the community of Anahuac began growing, and its black population sent students to classes at St. James Methodist Church, which organized in 1908, the same year Anahuac became county seat. Throughout the 20th century, Chambers County's education system improved with the organization of school districts and expanded state standards for educators. Two high schools in the county--George Washington Carver and Double Bayou--accommodated the older African American students. By 1966, all of Chambers County schools had been desegregated, and many of the facilities and staff from the former black schools were absorbed into the new integrated system as county residents moved into a new era of education. (2006)

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Date Logged Log   05/25/2017 TheMarkerFinder visited it