Central East Austin in Travis County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Laurine Cecil Anderson
(1853-1938)
Photo courtesy of Kealing Middle School
1. Laurine Cecil Anderson Marker
Born the son of slave parents in Tennessee, Laurine Cecil Anderson attended public schools in Memphis and college at Fisk University in Nashville. He came to Texas in 1880 to accept a position as principal of a training school in Brenham. He married Lizzie Pollard in 1882, and they had four children. After her death, he married Fannie Pollard, and they had one child.
In 1884 Governor Oran M. Roberts appointed Anderson principal of Prairie View Normal and Industrial College, now Prairie View A&M University. When the Colored Teachers State Association was formed in Prairie View in 1885, he was elected its first president and served until 1889.
In 1896 Anderson resigned his position at Prairie View to become Principal of Austins Robertson Hill High School, which was renamed E. H. Anderson High School in 1909 in honor of L. C. Andersons brother, also an educator. The school was at the time the only high school for blacks in the city, and L. C. Anderson served as its principal for thirty-two years.
L. C. Anderson died January 8, 1938, and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery. Two days after his death the Austin School
this page online
Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986
Erected 1986 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 15581.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education. A significant historical date for this entry is January 8, 1938.
Location. 30° 16.268′ N, 97° 43.272′ W. Marker is in Austin, Texas, in Travis County. It is in Central East Austin. It can be reached from the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Leona Street, on the right when traveling east. The marker is at the Kealing Middle School on the south wall of the courtyard. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1607 Pennsylvania Avenue, Austin TX 78702, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Central Texas. It is also in the American South. 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: Site of Old Anderson High School / Kealing Jr. High School (within shouting distance of this marker); James L. Farmer, Jr. (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Simpson United Methodist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Desegregation of Texas Public Schools (approx. 0.2 miles away); Southgate-Lewis House (approx. 0.2 miles away); George Washington Carver Branch Library (approx. 0.2 miles away); Thompson Home (approx. 0.3 miles away); Wesley United Methodist Church (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Austin.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 27, 2021, by Richard Denney of Austin, Texas. This page has been viewed 567 times since then and 27 times this year. Last updated on March 3, 2021, by Richard Denney of Austin, Texas. Photo 1. submitted on February 27, 2021, by Richard Denney of Austin, Texas. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
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