DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Bellville High School in Austin County. Now, every good story's got a problem at its heart, and this one's no different. Bellville had itself a two-story brick schoolhouse, built in 1918, that served all grades under one roof.
For a while, that was just fine. But by the 1930s, the walls were more than full — overcrowding had set in, and on top of that, the building had structural problems. Two strikes against a schoolhouse.
Something had to give. So the town went looking for help from the federal government, through a program called the Public Works Administration — the PWA, one of those New Deal programs Washington had set up. They put in an application for funds.
And in 1936, that application came back denied. Now, that is where a lesser town folds up and goes home. But not Bellville.
A man named H.F. Granau rounded up forty citizens willing to put their names on a petition, and that petition made its way to the board of trustees. The board responded by voting to issue bonds — fifty thousand dollars' worth.
Then they went back to the PWA with a second application, and this time, the answer was yes. Fifty-eight thousand additional dollars secured. With the money in hand, they brought in Blum E.
Hester as the architect and A.N. Evans as the contractor. What they built was a new high school and gymnasium — that gymnasium doubling as an auditorium, the kind of practical thinking that small Texas towns have always been good at.
The building opened in 1939, and for the dedication, they didn't bring in just anybody. U.S. Senator Tom Connally made the dedicatory address.
That new facility served as the high school all the way until 1970. After that, it kept right on working — serving other grades and school functions — until 2006, when it was renovated into the school district's administration building and the BISD school museum. A building that once couldn't get a single federal dollar in 1936 is still standing in Bellville today, still doing the work.
That's a story worth marking.
What the marker says
Bellville’s 1918 two-story brick schoolhouse served all grades, but by the 1930s had overcrowding and structural problems. An initial application for funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA), a federal New Deal program, was denied in 1936. After H.F. Granau led 40 citizens in signing a petition, the board of trustees voted to issue bonds for $50,000, and a second application to the PWA secured an additional $58,000. Blum E. Hester was the architect and A.N. Evans was the contractor for a new high school and gymnasium (also used as an auditorium), which opened in 1939 with U.S. Senator Tom Connally making the dedicatory address. The facility was the high school until 1970, then served other grades and school used until being renovated in 2006 as the school district’s administration building and BISD school museum. (2018)