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

Segregation in Gonzales: Edwards High School

The African-American Journey - 1863-1965

Photographed By James Hulse, November 29, 2021

1. Segregation in Gonzales: Edwards High School Marker

Inscription. Texas schools officially included Blacks in 1868, but provided no funds to build segregated schools. Classes met outdoors, in homes, churches or other buildings. Mrs. Myrtle Moses Mathis' home was the first Black neighborhood school in Gonzales (1870). In 1896 the Knights of Peter Claver Hall School on Church Street reported an enrollment of 130 students.

Early 1900s: Josephine K. Peck and W.M. Fly gave property to GISD - 1919: George Edwards named Principal of the 1882 GISD School for Colored 1922: Newly named Edwards High School graduated its first class.

Captions
Middle Left: Edwards High School Campus
Middle Right: Last Graduating Class of Edwards High School - 1965

Erected 2021 by Gonzales County Historical Commission and the City of Gonzales.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education. A significant historical year for this entry is 1868.

Location. 29° 30.13′ N, 97° 27.153′ W. Marker is in Gonzales, Texas, in Gonzales County. Marker is at the intersection of St. Louis Street and St. George Street, on the right when traveling north on St. Louis Street. The marker is located at the northwest section of the city square next to the Gonzales

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Fire Station. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Gonzales TX 78629, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Historic Gonzales Churches and Cemetery (here, next to this marker); From Segregation to Integration (here, next to this marker); Juneteenth - A Day of Freedom and Jubilee (here, next to this marker); Women of the Confederacy (a few steps from this marker); Jail Square (a few steps from this marker); Gonzales County Jail (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Central Square (about 300 feet away); James W. Robinson (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Gonzales.

Also see . . . Segregation.

Segregation is the physical separation of peoples on the basis of ethnicity and social custom historically applied to separate African Americans and Mexican Americans from Whites in Texas. Racial attitudes that supported segregation of African Americans probably arrived in Texas during the 1820s in company with the "peculiar institution," slavery. Anglo-Americans began extending segregation to Mexican Americans after the Texas Revolution as a social custom. Tejanos formed a suspect class during and after the revolution, and that fact led to a general aversion of them. After the Civil War, segregation
Photographed By James Hulse, November 29, 2021

2. Segregation in Gonzales: Edwards High School Marker
developed as a method of group control. Source: The Handbook of Texas

(Submitted on December 6, 2021, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

The Segregation in Gonzales: Edwards High School Marker is the second marker from the left image. Click for full size.

Photographed By James Hulse, November 29, 2021

3. The Segregation in Gonzales: Edwards High School Marker is the second marker from the left

Credits. This page was last revised on December 6, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 6, 2021, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 561 times since then and 76 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 6, 2021, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.