Booker T. Washington School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Booker T. Washington School in Harrison County. Now settle in, because this is a story that spans a hundred years and never wastes a single one of them.

Following emancipation, African Americans in Elysian Fields did what communities do when they're serious about the future. They built churches. They established cemeteries.

And they built schools. The first school for African Americans in Elysian Fields was the Elysian Fields Colored School, a two-room building, constructed in 1870. Two rooms.

And from those two rooms, they offered both elementary and high school-level curriculum. That is a community that means business. For forty-one years, that school held the line.

The first teachers on record were a Mr. Durant, who served from 1871 to 1878, and Jordan Williams, who served from 1890 to 1893. Now, here's where the story takes a turn you don't often see.

In 1910, the entire community of Elysian Fields elected to move. The whole community. Closer to the newly-established Marshall and East Texas Railway.

And the following year, 1911, the colored school was moved right along with them, to what is now the site of the Elysian Fields Elementary School. The community didn't leave its school behind. It brought the school with it.

In the late 1940s, several rural schools from the surrounding African American communities consolidated with the Elysian Fields Colored School, and they all operated together under the Elysian Fields County Line Rural School System, right up until 1954. Then on March 5th, 1954, the Elysian Fields School Board made it official. They renamed the school the Booker T.

Washington School, in honor of the influential educator and founder of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, known today as Tuskegee University. The school didn't just tend to the mind, either. There was football.

Boys basketball, girls basketball. A full life being built inside those walls. And then came 1970.

The one-hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Elysian Fields Colored School. On that anniversary, all schools within the district were integrated, and the Booker T. Washington School was converted into the Elysian Fields Elementary School.

A hundred years from a two-room building to full integration. That's not just a school. That's a century of a community refusing to let go of what mattered most.

What the marker says

Following emancipation, African Americans formed communities along with churches, cemeteries and schools. The first school for African Americans in Elysian Fields was the Elysian Fields Colored School, a two-room building constructed in 1870. The importance of education for their children was a cornerstone of the community. For 41 years, the school offered elementary and high school-level curriculum. The first teachers were a Mr. Durant (1871-1878) and Jordan Williams (1890-1893). In 1910, the entire community of Elysian Fields elected to move closer to the newly-established Marshall and East Texas Railway. In 1911, the colored school was moved to the current site of the Elysian Fields Elementary School. In the late 1940s, several rural schools for the surrounding African American communities consolidated with Elysian Fields Colored School and operated under the elysian fields county line rural school system until 1954. On March 5, 1954, the Elysian Fields School Board renamed the school the Booker T. Washington School, in honor of the influential educator and founder of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (now Tuskegee University). In addition to academic programs, the school also offered sports, including football and boys and girls basketball. in 1970, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Elysian Fields Colored School, all schools within the district were integrated. The school district then converted the Booker T. Washington School into the Elysian Fields Elementary School. (2017)