Site of Bunjes School

Site of Bunjes School. . , On June 25, 1886, H.J. Strunk, a resident of Colorado County, Texas, sold five acres of land for use as a school and cemetery to the Shinerville School community, originally named for area landowner H.B. Shiner. Residents funded, built and staffed the new schoolhouse, shipping lumber in from Flatonia (20 mi. NW) and assisting in carpentry work. They soon renamed it Shiner School No. 2 to avoid confusion with the city school in nearby Shiner. A later name change honored trustee Ferdinand Bunjes, who had led a bucket brigade that saved the building when the roof caught fire. , The school initially offered classes up to grade six but added more grades over the years. Patrons built a teacherage for William Fertsch and his wife, and in 1895 the community added an acre of land, as well as a road that helped students access the school. , In the early years, attendance was irregular. In 1916, the State of Texas mandated a six-month school year, but absenteeism for agricultural work remained common among farm families. Otto Fisseler taught at the school from 1912 to 1919, when he was replaced by Charles Chovanetz, who taught with his wife, Martha, until 1951. During their tenure, in 1933, a fire destroyed the teacherage. The district recovered from the loss and also constructed a new schoolhouse in 1937. , The Great Depression, World War II, and educational reform eventually resulted in the consolidation of such rural school districts in Texas, and in 1951 Bunjes School District No. 20 merged with Shiner Independent School District. The schoolhouse later became a residence, but the history of Bunjes School remains a reflection of the community's early education efforts.