Site of Booker T. Washington High School

Records indicate that by 1886, when Cora Robinson was chosen as a teacher, Wichita County operated at least one school for African American students in the Wichita Falls area. Other early teachers included A.L. Hedrick and M.E. Hunter, and students attended classes at different times in facilities on Mill, Park and Sullivan streets. Walter Downing and C.C. Trimble served as principals for many years, but it was during the princaipalship of H.D. Robinson that a three-story brick school building was constructed at this site. In 1921, former Wichita Falls mayor Jim Marlow sold eight acres in this section of town to create a new African American business and social center. The community chose this site for the Booker T. Washinton School, named for the noted educator and author. The school became a neighborhood focal point, and businesses developed around it that further placed it at the center of Wichita Falls' African American community. In 1922, A.E. Holland became the school's principal. He served until 1946, and under his leadership the school became a Class A accredited campus, and additional facilities, including a cafeteria and lighted football field, were constructed. The acclaimed C.E. Jackson served as principal from 1946 to 1963, during which time the district added a gym and an adjacent elementary school, also named for Washington. The high school moved to a site on Harding Street in 1963, and the district integrated in 1969, razing the former Washington High School building in 1971. Since that time, the community has continued using other buildings on the campus, including the cafeteria, which now serves as a center for the school's proud alumni. (2006)

Site of Booker T. Washington High School is a historical marker in Wichita Falls, Wichita County, dedicated in 2004. It is one of 75 historical markers documented in Wichita County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 94 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 33.9153, -98.4774 near Wichita Falls. The nearest cataloged historic site is Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Wichita Falls Route Building, Wichita Falls Opera House, and St. James Hotel, Site of.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5485013308. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.