Education in Livingston

Education has been integral to life in Livingston since the town's inception in the 1840s. Moses Choate's 100-acre donation for the townsite included land for a school. Trinity Masonic Lodge No. 14, A.F. & A.M. financed a free academy that began in 1849 and operated for 31 years. Classes were held on the first floor of the Masonic lodge, located on the southwest corner of what is now Old City Cemetery. In 1888, the Livingston Free School Corporation built a frame schoolhouse on Jackson Avenue, dedicated as Livingston Graded School. Trustees added ninth and tenth grades in 1906 under principal J.F. Stevens, creating Livingston High School. Classes were on the second floor, and the first graduating class in 1908 had three students. That summer, the schools offered an institute for African American teachers; the first African American school was on West Street. A 1910 bond issue paid for a two-story brick building on Jackson Avenue designed by the noted architectural firm of C.H. Page & Son of Austin. The district divided the previous schoolhouse into a new African American school and a residence. Trustees added an eleventh grade to Livingston High School in 1913, allowing graduates to meet college entrance requirements. In the 1930s, the district built Dunbar High School for African Americans and a new Livingston High School for Anglo students. This campus later expanded with a football field, auditorium and an additional classroom building. Trustees added a twelfth grade in 1941. A Freedom of Choice program began the integration process in 1965, and three years later all students attended classes together. The high school moved to new facilities in 1977. In 2006, the centennial year for Livingston High, the graduating class had nearly 300 students. (2007)

Education in Livingston is a historical marker in Livingston, Polk County, dedicated in 2007. It is one of 50 historical markers documented in Polk County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 138 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 30.7087, -100.9406 near Livingston. The nearest cataloged historic site is Magnolia Cemetery (cemetery), about 345 miles away. Others within a short drive include Onalaska First United Methodist Church, St Andrews, and DeLaFosse.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507013904. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.