DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. In 1881, Galveston established a public free school system — and that very act set something in motion. A man named George Ball, born in 1817, saw what the city needed and made an offer that was, by any measure, generous twice over.
He told the city leaders: I'll either donate the funds to build you a high school, or I'll build it myself and hand it over when it's done. Your call. The city leaders took a vote — and they chose to let Ball build it himself.
So a contract was signed with the George Locke and Co. Construction firm on January 15, 1884. One month later, the cornerstone was laid.
And here's the detail that'll stay with you — that stone was inscribed with the words: 'George Ball to the Children of Galveston.' A man writing his legacy in granite before the walls were even up. Then, the following month, George Ball died. The school he'd commissioned, the gift he'd signed his name to, was still unfinished.
He never saw a single student walk through those doors. The first graduation ceremony didn't take place until May 31, 1887. But the story didn't end with the man.
Members of the Ball family kept supporting the school, and when the 1900 storm came through and tore into Galveston, public donations helped rebuild what the storm had taken. Ball High School eventually opened at its present location in 1955, and in 1969 it merged with Central High School. Over the years, some notable names came up through those halls — Albert Lasker, John Sealy, Marion Levy, all of them figures woven into Galveston's story.
George Ball never saw his school completed. But that cornerstone inscription turned out to be exactly right — it was, and it has been, a gift to the children of Galveston, generation after generation.
What the marker says
Following the creation of a public free school system in Galveston in 1881, philanthropist George Ball (1817-1884) made a proposal to the city for the construction of a high school. He offered either to donate funds for the building of a school or to have it built himself and then donate it to the city. The city leaders voted to have Ball build the school. A contract was signed with the George Locke and Co. Construction firm on January 15, 1884, and the cornerstone was laid one month later. The stone was inscribed "George Ball to the Children of Galveston." Ball died the following month, before the school was completed. The first graduation ceremony at the school took place on May 31, 1887. Members of the Ball family continued to support the school, and public donations helped rebuild the school following the 1900 storm. Ball High School opened at its present location in 1955. It was merged with Central High School in 1969. Many people prominent in Galveston history graduated from Ball High School, including Albert Lasker, John Sealy, and Marion Levy. The school continues its century-old tradition of educating Galveston's young people. (1988)