Orange in Orange County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Black Education in Orange County

Photographed by Cajun Scrambler, April 12, 2018

1. Black Education in Orange County Marker

Inscription.
As early as the 1870s, Orange County's African American children attended school in private homes and churches. The Orange County commissioners established 17 school districts in 1887. Schools included the Duncan Woods No. 3, located in the Duncan Woods community of southwestern Orange County. The school had probably been in operation for several years at that time. Thomas F. Pollard served as an early teacher there.

Students within the city of Orange attended school at Mount Zion Baptist and then Salem Methodist Episcopal Colored Church in the 1880s. Under the leadership of teacher A.J. Criner, the school later moved to the United Brotherhood Friendship Hall. S.R. Pickney served as principal for 13 years, and during his tenure the school moved into a two-story frame structure, which became the Orange Colored School. It was renamed in 1930 in honor of educator and Tuskegee Institute President Russa Moton and again in 1946 for longtime Orange teacher and principal Emma Henderson Wallace. Moton Elementary and High School, which later occupied a three-story brick structure, was known for its beautiful campus and won acclaim for its sports and band programs.

The district included schools for several hundred African American students and continued to build new facilities up until integration in 1966. It utilized Franklin Elementary,

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built in 1958, and North Junior High School, opened in August 1964, only for a short while. Although most of the former African American campuses were phased out of use, the district, which became the West Orange Cove Independent School District, converted the North Junior High campus into a learning center.

Erected 2004 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 16630.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education. A significant historical month for this entry is August 1964.

Location. 30° 6.256′ N, 93° 43.858′ W. Marker is in Orange, Texas, in Orange County. It is at the intersection of Second Street and West Turrett Avenue, on the right when traveling north on Second Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Orange TX 77630, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Texas’ Golden Triangle.

It is also in the American South,

on the Gulf Coast,

and in the Piney Woods.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Emma Henderson Wallace (approx. 0.2 miles away); Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (approx. 0.2 miles away); Hollywood Community Cemetery (approx. 0.2 miles away); Saint Paul Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (approx. ¼ mile away); Salem United Methodist Church (approx. ¼ mile away); St. Therese Catholic Church (approx. 0.3 miles away); a different marker

Photographed by Cajun Scrambler, April 12, 2018

2. Black Education in Orange County Marker

also named Black Education in Orange County (approx. 0.3 miles away); Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Orange.

More about this marker. Located in the Solomon Johnson Park.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 3, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 14, 2018, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana. This page has been viewed 1,967 times since then and 100 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 14, 2018.