FIRST --- School for Hispanic Children in Marfa, Marfa TX
N 30° 18.351 W 104° 01.390
13R E 593925 N 3353080
A state historic marker in front of the former Blackwell School in Marfa helps preserve the history of this former Latino-only school
Waymark Code: WMTY8G
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/22/2017
Views: 1
The first and only school for Hispanic children in Marfa until 1965, the Blackwell School is located at 501 S Abbot Street in Marfa.
The Blackwell School closed for good in 1965, when all of Marfa schools were integrated. In 2006,the school building was rescued and today operates as the Blackwell School Museum.
A state historic marker in front of the school builsing reads as follows:
"BLACKWELL SCHOOL
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"
Today the Blackwell School Museum preserves Latino History and encourages respect for Latino culture in a place where it wasn't always done.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Place or Location
Date of FIRST: 01/01/1889
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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