Godley School

The town of Godley began in 1886, as rancher and lumber merchant B. B. Godley donated land for a townsite and right-of-way to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad. Predating the railroad town was the local school, as Johnson County Commissioners Court formed Godley Independent School District in July 1884. Dr. John I. Pearson was one of the earliest teachers. Godley College began in 1899 in a three-story frame building, becoming Godley High School three years later. A three-story brick building opened in time for graduation in 1916. Godley School experienced great growth in the late 1930s through rural school consolidation and federal New Deal agency aid. A 1937 gymnasium and 1939 auditorium enlarged the existing campus. The auditorium (later a library) was completed with financial and labor assistance through the National Youth Administration. A new main building, completed in 1940 with Works Progress Administration funds, joined the gymnasium and auditorium into a single building and an unusually large facility for a rural school. School buildings from Bruce, Pleasant View and Cottonwood were moved here as part of the new construction. Godley School housed all grades until 1967 when a new elementary school was built. After 1984 the school became a middle school, then an intermediate school in 2000. The Godley School consists of one-story wings connecting a two-story main building and an auditorium and gymnasium in a modified rectangular plan. The exterior is clad with native stone in a giraffe rock pattern. Dark brick is laid in a stack bond variation, with alternating runners and stretchers. Multi-pane windows and Spanish Colonial-style entries are also prominent.

Godley School is a historical marker in Godley, Johnson County, dedicated in 2010. It is one of 71 historical markers documented in Johnson County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 139 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.4534, -97.5309 near Godley. The nearest cataloged historic site is First Baptist Church of Godley (historical marker), about 0.4 miles away. Others within a short drive include Godley IOOF, Unnnamed Grave, and Old Bethany Cemetery.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507016441. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.