Nursery School and Nursery Independent School District

Nursery School and Nursery Independent School District. . The Nursery community was established in 1883, named for Gilbert Onderdonk's site for growing trees and plants. A post office opened the following year, and the first public school for the community was a two-room building located on the Kyle Ranch in 1890. In 1899, a larger two-room school was built on the Terryville Wagon Road (Nursery Road). , On June 16, 1916, Dr. W.A. Harper and his wife, J. Pelham Harper, conveyed 3 3/10 acres on Front Street (Nursery Drive) to Victoria County Judge J.P. Pool for the use of Common School District No. Five. In 1917, a new Nursery School building was completed with three classrooms and an auditorium with stage. All grades through high school were taught in this building, and in the 1930s a half-day kindergarten called "Primer" was added. Teachers often taught multiple ages; in the 1931-32 school year, Mrs. Ed Griffith had 47 students in primer through second grades; Miss Norma Keeler taught 27 students in third to fifth; Miss Willie Faye McElroy taught 25 students from fourth to seventh grades; and Mr. R.C. Pickett taught 18 students from eighth to tenth. Athletics included basketball, baseball, volleyball and track, and plays, programs and other activities were common occurrences. R.C. Pickett later became the county superintendent of schools, serving until 1974. , The 65th Texas Legislature ruled that all common school districts would have to consolidate or become independent, and so the Nursery Board of Trustees voted to become the Nursery Independent School District in December 1978, taking effect the next year. The Nursery School Campus has expanded but the 1917 building is still in use, a reflection of more than a century of the importance of education in the community.