Marfa in Presidio County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Blackwell School

Photographed by William F Haenn, June 3, 2012

1. Blackwell School Marker

Inscription. Education for local children of Mexican descent dates from 1889, when the former Methodist church became a schoolhouse. The school, named for longtime principal Jesse Blackwell, served hundreds of Hispanic children up to ninth grade. Students were told to speak only English on campus; Spanish words written on slips of paper were buried on the grounds in a mock funeral ceremony. The school closed in 1965 with integration of Marfa schools. The building sat vacant until preservation efforts by the Blackwell School Alliance, formed in 2006. The one-story schoolhouse has a modified hip roof, front-gabled entry, and plastered 24-inch thick adobe walls on a stone foundation.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2010

Erected 2010 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 16572.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Hispanic Americans. A significant historical year for this entry is 1889.

Location. 30° 18.355′ N, 104° 1.338′ W. Marker is in Marfa, Texas, in Presidio County. It is at the intersection of West Waco Street and South Abbott Street, on the left when traveling west on West Waco Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 501 South Abbot Street, Marfa TX 79843, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Texas’ Trans-Pecos & Big Bend Region.

It is also in the American Southwest.

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 Comanchería,

the Republic of Texas,

and one of the Confederate States of America.

Other nearby markers.

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At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Fort D.A. Russell (approx. 0.2 miles away); Humphris-Humphreys House (approx. ¼ mile away); Building 98, Fort D. A. Russell (approx. 0.4 miles away); El Paisano Hotel (approx. 0.4 miles away); Hunter Gymnasium (approx. half a mile away); Presidio County Courthouse (approx. half a mile away); St. Paul's Episcopal Church (approx. 0.6 miles away); James Buchanan Gillett (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Marfa.

Photographed by Bill Kirchner, October 22, 2012

2. Blackwell School Marker

Blackwell School and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William F Haenn, June 3, 2012

3. Blackwell School and Marker

Photographed by Bill Kirchner, October 22, 2012

4. Blackwell School Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on October 18, 2019. It was originally submitted on June 5, 2012, by William F Haenn of Fort Clark (Brackettville), Texas. This page has been viewed 1,144 times since then and 29 times this year. Last updated on November 2, 2012, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. Photos: 1. submitted on June 5, 2012, by William F Haenn of Fort Clark (Brackettville), Texas. 2. submitted on November 2, 2012, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. 3. submitted on June 5, 2012, by William F Haenn of Fort Clark (Brackettville), Texas. 4. submitted on November 2, 2012, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.