Decatur in Wise County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
East Side Elementary School
Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, April 10, 2023
1. East Side Elementary School Marker
Inscription.
East Side Elementary School. . In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Wise and several surrounding counties had few African American citizens. Yet regulations at the time required separate facilities for African Americans. Most African American families in Decatur lived in a neighborhood east of the Fort Worth and Denver Railway tracks. In 1882, they established East Side Elementary School, which was the only school for African American students in Wise County. The original building was a one-room frame structure built near the residence of a Mrs. Missouri Brown. Initially the facility also served as a church. It had a pot-bellied stove that the boys gathered wood for from the nearby creek. A water well was abandoned in the 1930s when it was discovered to be contaminated with oil. , East Side Elementary School often inherited discarded furnishings and textbooks from Decatur's white schools. Students who completed eighth grade had to travel to Fort Worth's I.M. Terrell High School (45 miles) or Denton's Fred Moore High School (30 miles) to continue their education. In 1954, the school was replaced by a two-classroom brick building and the old frame building was used as a band hall at Decatur High School. Later, the former school served as a barn and then was moved back to its historic neighborhood. East Side Elementary School operated until segregation ended in 1965 and all students attended the same schools. Little documentation exists for Decatur's African American community. The stories of East Side Elementary School serve as reminders of the struggles and triumphs of a different time in our nation's past.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Wise and several surrounding counties had few African American citizens. Yet regulations at the time required separate facilities for African Americans. Most African American families in Decatur lived in a neighborhood east of the Fort Worth and Denver Railway tracks. In 1882, they established East Side Elementary School, which was the only school for African American students in Wise County. The original building was a one-room frame structure built near the residence of a Mrs. Missouri Brown. Initially the facility also served as a church. It had a pot-bellied stove that the boys gathered wood for from the nearby creek. A water well was abandoned in the 1930s when it was discovered to be contaminated with oil.
East Side Elementary School often inherited discarded furnishings and textbooks from Decatur's white schools. Students who completed eighth grade had to travel to Fort Worth's I.M. Terrell High School (45 miles) or Denton's Fred Moore High School (30 miles) to continue their education. In 1954, the school was replaced by a two-classroom brick building and the old frame building was used as a band hall at Decatur High School. Later, the former school served as a barn and then was moved back to its historic neighborhood. East Side Elementary School operated until segregation
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ended in 1965 and all students attended the same schools. Little documentation exists for Decatur's African American community. The stories of East Side Elementary School serve as reminders of the struggles and triumphs of a different time in our nation's past.
Erected 2013 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 17738.)
Location. 33° 14.353′ N, 97° 34.68′ W. Marker is in Decatur, Texas, in Wise County. It is at the intersection of Business Highway 380 and North Arthur Street on Highway 380Business . FM 51 at Business 380, southeast corner. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Decatur TX 76234, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Prairies & Lakes Region and in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area. 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, and one of the Confederate States of America.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 12, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 11, 2023, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. This page has been viewed 569 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on April 11, 2023, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
