Baker Ranch School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Baker Ranch School out in Ector County. Now, picture this. It's 1906, and if you're raising children in rural Ector County, you've got a problem.

There are no public schools. None. The land is wide, the roads are rough, and the nearest classroom might as well be on the moon.

So two men decided to do something about it. R.W. Smith and Teague Baker put their heads together, and what they came up with was about as modest as a solution can get.

They erected a school building in Baker's pasture. Eight feet by ten feet. You heard that right.

Eight by ten. Smaller than most folks' bathrooms today, but it had four walls, and that was the point. Then they hired a teacher.

Fifteen dollars a month, plus room and board. Now, here's the part that tells you everything about the character of these two men. Smith and Baker each furnished that room and board on alternate months.

Nobody carrying more than their share. Nobody carrying less. The teacher had a roof and a meal, and the kids had a school.

Out in that pasture, ranch schools like this one weren't just serving the children of ranchers. They were teaching the children of cowboys too, and nesters, those small farmers coming west to homestead or to buy land at nominal prices. People startin' from scratch, building something in a country that didn't come with much already built.

The Baker community eventually did get a public school. Things grew, as things do. But the marker makes a point of saying this: till the Permian Basin had good roads and buses, ranch schools served it well.

Eight feet by ten feet, fifteen dollars a month, and two neighbors takin' turns. That's what education looked like when nobody was coming to bring it to you.

What the marker says

Since there were no public schools in rural Ector County, R.W. Smith and Teague Baker in 1906 erected an 8'x10' school building in Baker's pasture. They hired a teacher at $15 a month, plus room and board, which each furnished on alternate months. Ranch schools like this one taught not only children of ranchers, but also those of cowboys and nesters--small farmers coming west to homestead or to by land at nominal prices. Baker community later had a public school. Till the Permian Basin had good roads and buses, ranch schools served it well. (1965)