Near Como in Wood County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Lloyd Common School No. 17

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 3, 2026

1. Lloyd Common School No. 17 Marker

Inscription. Also known colloquially as “Coke School,” the Lloyd Common School No. 17 educated children of the rural community known as Coke for generations. After the Texas Legislature passed significant funding for the public school system in the 1880s, local officials organized the Coke School District for the purposes of education. By 1888, a school building had been built for the Coke community, and Dr. Jim Wilson was teaching. The school grew, and for the 1913-1914 school year, Mattie Brewer and Florence Beard taught in the school. In 1941, Bill Pittman began teaching at Coke School. His wife, Corene, also taught at Coke. Bill left to join the army in 1944.

In 1942, the Amerada Petroleum Company began drilling test wells near the Coke community, and by the end of the year, struck oil and completed more wells in the area. With an influx of funds associated with the oil boom, the community built a brick schoolhouse. In August 1945, Henry Azariah Robinson and his four sons, Ralph, Maston, Clarence, and Idas, donated a tract, and Ralph and Laura Robinson donated an adjoining tract, forming a lot at the southwest corner of FM 515

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and FM 69. When Bill Pittman was discharged, he returned to the new Coke School as its principal. Continued drilling allowed the school to be fiscally independent, rejecting all state and federal funds, and providing all students free lunches and school supplies.

The new building became the center of community life, and hosted dance performances by the Coquettes, sports, art exhibits, carnivals, plays and more. The lower grade room at different times housed an alligator caught from Caddo Lake: Poboy and Poboy number 2. As Texas schools began to combine in the 1960s, Coke was the last common school to merge with a larger independent school district when it consolidated with Quitman ISD in 1965.

Erected 2023 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 23916.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Education. A significant historical month for this entry is August 1945.

Location. 32° 55.454′ N, 95° 26.001′ W. Marker is near Como, Texas, in Wood County. It is at the intersection of Farm to Market 69 and Farm to Market 515, on the left when traveling north on Farm to Market 69. Touch for map. Marker is at or near

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 3, 2026

2. Lloyd Common School No. 17 Marker

this postal address: 5601 FM 69, Quitman TX 75783, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Piney Woods.

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 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Pleasant Grove School & Cemetery (approx. 2.3 miles away); Rock Hill Baptist Church (approx. 2.6 miles away); Black Oak Baptist Church (approx. 3.3 miles away); Site of Little Indiana School (approx. 3.4 miles away); Hopewell Church and Cemetery (approx. 3½ miles away); Lee Cemetery (approx. 7½ miles away); Winnsboro (approx. 8½ miles away); Carlock - Wilkinson Home (approx. 8½ miles away).

Also see . . . New life for old school. The name carved in stone above the door says Lloyd C.S.D 17, but it is more popularly known as the Coke

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school. Although it has not heard the sounds of pupils for 58 years, it has continued to serve the community 10 miles north of Quitman. And now it has been given new life thanks to D’Ann and John Drennan in what D’Ann describes as a family project to restore the building and turn it into a retreat. (Phil Major, Wood County Monitor, Aug. 11, 2023) (Submitted on October 24, 2026, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 24, 2026, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 5 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 24, 2026, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.