DUANE
Duane's take
Here's the story as the official marker tells it — and it's one worth knowing. Back in 1871, the Public School Act opened a door. For African Americans in Brazos County, formal education began right there, with that law.
It didn't start grand. Classes were held in small community schools, church-related buildings — whatever space could be gathered and made to work. Quietly, steadily, those students kept showing up.
By 1923, the A&M Consolidated School District counted 127 African American students. But here's the thing — those buildings only went so far. Elementary students, yes.
High school? The district reached an agreement to bus pupils all the way to Kemp High School over in Bryan, and the A&M School District picked up the tab for that. Every bit of it.
Then the 1930s came, and the numbers kept climbing. Rising costs — tuition, transportation — they had a way of forcing decisions. And the decision the A&M District made was to approve and build a high school right there in College Station.
In 1941, the A&M Consolidated Negro School opened its doors. Five years later, in 1946, an athletic field was added, and the school took on a new name — Lincoln School. Two years after that, in 1948, the building itself was expanded.
Growth, brick by brick, year by year. Then 1966. A fire tore through the campus and destroyed one of three classroom buildings.
A hundred students were displaced, just like that. And those burned facilities — they were not rebuilt. That absence mattered.
The City of College Station stepped in during the late 1960s, leasing the land and the remaining five buildings. By 1972, the city had restored the site. In 1978, the city bought the land outright.
And in 1980, they dedicated it — the Lincoln Center. What started as scattered classrooms in churches and community halls, driven forward by one law and the determination of students and families across Brazos County, now stands as the home of community life in College Station. That's a long road from 1871, and every mile of it is in the marker.
What the marker says
Formal education for African Americans in Brazos County began as a result of the Public School Act of 1871. Classes were held in many small community and church-related schools, and by 1923 there were 127 African American students in the A&M Consolidated School District. Buildings accommodated only elementary school students until an agreement was reached to bus pupils to the Kemp High School in Bryan. The A&M School District paid the expenses. In the 1930s the number of African American students grew steadily. Rising costs of tuition and transportation prompted the A&M District to approve and build a high school in College Station. The A&M Consolidated Negro School opened in 1941. An athletic field was added in 1946 and the name of the school changed to Lincoln School. The building was expanded in 1948. A fire in 1966 destroyed one of three classroom buildings displacing 100 students. The burned facilities were not rebuilt. The City of College Station leased the land and the remaining five buildings in the late 1960s, and restored the site in 1972. The city bought the land in 1978 and dedicated the Lincoln Center in 1980. The former school is now the home of many community activities in College Station. (1996)