Black Education

Black Education. Early School History, also, People. In the late 1850s, "Big" Jim Brigham bought his and his family's freedom from Robert Neyland, a planter who owned land in northeastern Hunt County. Brigham founded Neylandville, the first all-Black community in the county and the only known all-Black incorporated municipality in Texas., In 1888, Neylandville opened their first school, St. Paul's, which began at St. Paul Baptist Church. It evolved into what was considered the best public Black school in a three-county area., St. Paul had a student population of 300-350, of which about 250-280 came from all over the county. It offered classes from grades 1-12. Prior to 1940, it was one of only a few Black schools in the area to offer vocational courses. In fact, three years of vocational agriculture for the boys and three years of homemaking studies for the girls was required for graduation., Black schools in Greenville began shortly after the Civil War ended and slaves were declared free. A White Northerner, Pitt Waggoner, established a school on the north side of Greenville, near Clark Street, that serviced both adults and children. In the late 1880s, Will Ross, a graduate of Fisk University, became their first prepared teacher. Several years later, the first Black Greenville pupil of the school to have graduated from college, T. W. Pratt, came back to teach. He organized the first Black high school and named it Ross High School, after his teacher who had inspired him to continue his education., Several years later the name of Ross High School was changed to Booker T. Washington High School. It educated Black children from grades 1-12. For many years, there was only one Black school in Greenville. The Frederick Douglass School and the Savannah School opened in the early 1900s and served grades 1-8., The Farmers' Improvement School, commonly known as F. I. S. College, flourished for almost forty years outside of Wolfe City in the early part of the twentieth century. Not really a college in the modern sense of the word, F.I.S. was an affiliated high school and trade institute for young Blacks interested in agriculture., The first permanent F.I.S building was erected in 1908 and eventually grew to four large buildings. The institution operated on the principle that young people learn by doing. Both students and faculty divided their time between farm chores and academic instruction. Money to support the school program came from income produced by the 90-acre farm, student tuition and donations. The state of Texas did not financially support the school., During the 1930s, F.I.S. gradually declined in popularity. It closed its doors at the end of the 1946-47 academic year, a casualty of the rapid decline of small farms and the emergence of public high schools for Blacks., Captions , (Photo #1) St. Paul School, 1926 , Reverse Side , Tommy Dewitt Cole , Tommy Cole Sr. was born in Linden, Texas on Nov. 1, 1917, and died Sep. 5, 1991. He and his family moved to Greenville during the 1920s. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School as valedictorian of the class of 1935. After graduation, Cole worked with the St. Paul School District as a PE teacher through the WPA program. He served in the US Army during world war two, achieving the rank of Master Sergeant. Cole attended a Gl School set up by the government in Greenville and was certified as a tailor. He started his work career as a porter at the old Washington Hotel, then worked as a dye and shoe repairman. He retired after working about 20 years with the Texas Highway Dept. When a summer baseball program was organized in Greenville, he served as the organizer and assistant coach of the Dark Town Tigers Little League Baseball Team., Trig Ward , Trig Ward was born in the Center Point Community of Hunt County on Oct. 3, 1924. He died on July 5, 2009. He was the son of Abe Lorenzo and Elzena Ward. He attended St. Paul School in Neylandville and later attended Jarvis Christian College. Ward became a member of Center Point Christian Church, where he served as elder and a minister of music., After leaving college, Ward worked as a rancher on the Burnett Ranch for 30 years. When the ranch closed, he worked for Jackson Furniture Manufacturers, until the furniture plant closed. He then went to work at E-Systems. While he held down all these jobs, Ward was teaching music in his home and in other locations. Ward was a gifted teacher, having as many as 110 students at one time. He is remembered for his legacy of playing guitar and teaching music to local residents of all ages throughout his life. Making music on mandolins, fiddles, banjos, organs, saxophones, and guitars is a family tradition, which Ward has passed along to thousands of students., While he appreciated all kinds of music, Ward said he considered himself to be a country artist. "What I do is country," he said. "In the time that I came along, that's what everybody did. I still play a lot of country. I also like to perform the blues. If you're going to play country, make it sound country. If you're going to play blues, blues has a little different appeal, so give it a bruised sound." Ward also formed a country band known as The Rhythm Kings, playing guitar, and singing lead. In the early days he was often the only Black person in the building where they were playing. He was also named Musician of the Year in Greenville. Ward's sons, Donald and James, carried on the family tradition with the local favorite band known as The Blues Doctors., Captions , (Photo #1) Tommy Cole and his wife, Edith , (Photo #2) Tommy Cole at bat