Site of Rincon/Douglas School
N 29° 25.801 W 098° 29.551
14R E 549223 N 3255736
This Texas historical marker is under the shade of two oak trees where the junction is of Augusta Street meeting Convent Street in downtown San Antonio, Texas. It is on the Southwest corner of the Augusta Street Bridge, at the Riverwalk's entrance.
Waymark Code: WM195MQ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 11/30/2023
Views: 2
From the South end of the red parking garage of the Central Library, look toward the Augusta Street Bridge. Where Giraud Street meets Augusta Street, walk South along the Augusta Street sidewalk to the bridge and cross the bridge. As you step off the bridge near where Augusta meets Convent Street, look West (to your right) and you will see two trees and the entrance/exit stairway used to get to the Riverwalk. Next to the trees is a Texas historical marker titled "Site of Rincon/Douglass School." This plaque tells how a school for newly freed slaves was build and operated in this location for a time after the ending of the Civil War. This school for former slaves was built in the late 1860s. The school moved to larger locations as the number of students increased and its name was also changed a few times. The Rincon/Douglas School, throughout all its iterations, became instrumental in how the segregated school system method in Texas developed as part of this state's public educational system.
Marker Number: 4269
Marker Text:
In the aftermath of the Civil War, the resolution of issues associated with education of newly freed slaves influenced the nature of Southern education well into the 20th century. The federal government established the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands to coordinate the transition from slavery to freedom. Among the more visible of the Bureau's programs was the organization and building of schools.
The first free public school for Blacks in San Antonio was built on this site in the late 1860s. Operated by the local office of the Freedmen's Bureau, the school was a two-story stone structure. Called Rincon School because of its location on Rincon (now St. Mary's) Street, the school provided instruction to students of all ages. It was the only Bureau school in Texas to receive support from a local government.
The City of San Antonio assumed operation of the school in 1871, adding it to what eventually became the San Antonio Independent School District. The name was changed to Riverside School in 1890, and to Frederick Douglass School in 1904. Ten years later the school was relocated to a two-story brick building at what is now 318 Martin Luther King Drive.
An important part of the city's history, Rincon/Douglass School has been integral to the heritage of a large portion of San Antonio's population. The early example established by the Rincon School and similar schools played a fundamental role in defining the nature of the segregated school system in Texas and at the same time inspired support for universal public education in the South.
(1989, 2010)
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.