Abilene in Taylor County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Eugenia Pickard

Photographed by Duane Hall, December 14, 2014

1. Eugenia Pickard Marker

Inscription. A philanthropic African American woman greatly improved Abilene’s minority neighborhoods. Eugenia Pickard was born in Georgia about 1877. She moved to Texas in the early 1900s and settled in Abilene. Here she owned several properties and made them available for no rent to poor families with children. She also provided places to play to African American children who had no public parks. When Pickard died in 1945, she left savings and property to the city of Abilene to be used for a new African American schoolhouse. The funds were insufficient, so instead the Eugenia Pickard Library was dedicated. Located within Abilene’s Carter G. Woodson High School, it served the surrounding community as an educational and social center.

Erected 2008 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 15000.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education. A significant historical year for this entry is 1877.

Location. 32° 27.137′ N, 99° 43.01′ W. Marker is in Abilene, Texas, in Taylor County. It can be reached from Cockerell Drive 0.1 miles south of E. N. 7th Street, on the right when traveling south. Marker is attached to the front wall of the east wing of the Woodson Center for Excellence. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 342 Cockerell Dr, Abilene TX 79601, United States of America. Touch for directions.

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Regionally, this marker is in Big Country.

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. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: "Double V" Memorial Flagpole (approx. half a mile away); Mexican-American / Americanization School (approx. half a mile away); Thomas Middlebrook Willis (approx. half a mile away); Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (approx. half a mile away); Claiborne Walker Merchant (approx. half a mile away); James Winford Hunt (approx. 0.6 miles away); Abilene African-American Schools (approx. 0.7 miles away); Macedonia Baptist Church (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Abilene.

Photographed by Duane Hall, December 14, 2014

2. Eugenia Pickard Marker

Woodson Center for Excellence image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane Hall, December 14, 2014

3. Woodson Center for Excellence

Formerly Carter G. Woodson High School

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on December 20, 2014, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. This page has been viewed 877 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 20, 2014, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas.