Alla School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say, and this one's worth every mile to hear. Moses and Mary Jane Hubbard pulled up from Missouri in 1866, their daughter Alla in tow, and set down roots in Collin County. Moses wasn't a man who did things halfway.

He built himself a reputation as a successful doctor, a farmer, and one of the largest landholders in the entire area. So when the local school turned out to be well, inadequate, the Hubbards didn't fume and do nothing. They supplemented Alla's education right there at home, and when that wasn't enough, they sent her back to Missouri to Pritchett Institute in Glasgow, where she earned a degree in literature in 1880.

A talented writer, Alla Hubbard came back to Texas, married Dr. B.F. Spencer in 1884, and by all accounts had a full life ahead of her.

But she died five years later. Now, some grief breaks people. Some grief builds things.

In 1895, Moses and Mary Jane Hubbard founded a school in their daughter's memory. They named it Alla School. They formed it from the consolidation of two nearby districts: the Emerson and the McWhirter, and they financed the whole operation themselves.

Completely. When Alla School opened in 1896, it came in swinging: a hundred and eight students enrolled, nine grades offered, an eight-month school term, no scholastic age limit, and here's the part that raised eyebrows across the county: no tuition. None.

At a time when there was little support for free public schools, the Hubbards built one anyway, because they understood, bone-deep, what a solid education was worth. That school ran for more than sixty years before merging with the Celina Independent School District in 1958. And even then, funds from the Hubbard estate kept right on serving public education in the Celina schools.

Moses and Mary Jane lost a daughter. What they left behind was a legacy that outlasted them both, and it's still got Alla's name on it.

What the marker says

In 1866 Moses and Mary Jane Hubbard and their daughter Alla moved from Missouri to Collin County, where Hubbard was a successful doctor, farmer, and one of the largest landholders in the area. Concerned with the inadequacy of the local school, the Hubbards supplemented Alla's education at home and then sent her to Pritchett Institute in Glasgow, Missouri, where she earned a degree in literature in 1880. A talented writer, Alla Hubbard returned to Texas and married Dr. B.F. Spencer in 1884, but died five years later. In 1895 her parents founded a school in her memory. Named Alla School, it was formed from the consolidation of the nearby Emerson and McWhirter school districts and was completely financed by the Hubbards. With an initial enrollment of 108, Alla School opened in 1896 with nine grades, no scholastic age limit, no tuition, and an eight-month school term. The Hubbards, aware of the benefits of a solid educational background, instituted these uncommon features at a time when there was little support for free public shools. In 1958 the Alla School merged with the Celina Independent School District. Funds from the Hubbard estate, however, continued to serve public education in the Celina Schools. (1983)