Northside in Houston in Harris County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Cooley School

Photographed by James Hulse, November 7, 2023

1. Cooley School Marker

Inscription. Soon after Houston Heights (The Heights) was founded in 1891, the new neighborhood's leaders turned their sights to providing schools for the children of the area. Community leaders Daniel Denton Cooley (1850-1933), affectionately known as the "Father of Houston Heights", and Helen Grace Winfield Cooley (1860-1916) believed in education's importance and financed the construction of the Heights first school.

Cooley school opened in the fall of 1894 as a one-room school with an unfinished upstairs room, which was completed in 1896. Due to the Heights remarkable growth, Cooley School was expanded to a six-room school in 1906 and to a sixteen-room school in 1912, Olle J. Lorehn (1864-1939), a prominent Houston architect who designed Houston's first skyscraper and first apartment building, designed the 1912 expansion, enveloping the earlier construction in the new Georgian-style structure.

Cooley School began as a common school in County School District No. 25 in 1898, the municipality of Houston Heights and its independent school district took charge of the school. Eventually, the financial needs of the several Heights schools became too pressing for the community, leading to the consolidation of Houston Heights with the City of Houston in 1918; Cooley and the other Heights schools then became part of the Houston Independent School District (HISD).

The 1912 school building was destroyed by fire in 1961. The school was rebuilt and opened the next year. Cooley School continued to operate as an elementary school until 1980, when it became an HISD administrative building. In 2010, the property was sold for residential development.

Erected 2013 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 17576.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Education. A significant historical year for this entry is 1894.

Location. 29° 48.036′ N,

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95° 24.088′ W. Marker is in Houston, Texas, in Harris County. It is in Northside. It is at the intersection of Rutland Street and West 17th Street, on the right when traveling south on Rutland Street. The marker is located on the east side of the property. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Houston TX 77008, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South

and on the Gulf Coast.

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: Dr. Penn B. and Annie A. Thornton House (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Reagan Masonic Lodge No. 1037 A.F. & A.M. (approx. ¼ mile away); St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (approx. ¼ mile away); Dr. B.F. and Ethel Reed Coop House (approx. ¼ mile away); Daniel Denton Cooley (approx. ¼ mile away);

Plaque at the foot of the Cooley School Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, November 7, 2023

2. Plaque at the foot of the Cooley School Marker

Heights Church of Christ (approx. ¼ mile away); David Barker House (approx. ¼ mile away); Houston Heights Woman's Club (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Houston.

Also see . . . Cooley, Daniel Denton (1850–1933). Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) (Submitted on November 8, 2023, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

The view of the Cooley School Marker from the street image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, November 7, 2023

3. The view of the Cooley School Marker from the street

Credits. This page was last revised on November 8, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 8, 2023, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 1,061 times since then and 131 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 8, 2023, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.