Cashion School

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Back in 1902, Wichita County built itself a one-room schoolhouse right here on this very ground. The land came courtesy of H.

F. Knippenberg, who donated it for the cause, and the school itself was named for County Commissioner T. J.

Cashion. When those doors opened, there was one teacher, Mrs. Lou Dodson, and twelve students.

One room, one teacher, twelve kids. That was the whole operation. Now, you might think a story that starts that modest couldn't possibly go anywhere dramatic.

You would be wrong. In 1915, the original building burned down. Gone.

So they built a new one in 1916, and that new building was about to have more company than anyone expected. Because in 1918, oil was discovered in nearby Burkburnett. And when oil gets discovered, people come.

Large numbers of people moved into this area, and their children needed schooling. Cashion's enrollment climbed. The school expanded in 1923.

Then in 1924, E. F. Gaston donated three adjoining acres.

By 1926, there was a brick high school and a gymnasium built right out front of the existing schoolhouse. That same year, 1926 going into 27, the Cooper School and the Bacon Switch School both merged into Cashion. The place was growing, humming, full of life.

Those school buildings weren't just for learning either. They served the whole community, for social gatherings, recreation, political activities. At its peak, in the 1930 to 31 school year, Cashion School reached its highest recorded enrollment.

Two hundred and eighty-six students. From twelve to two hundred and eighty-six. That is a long way to climb.

But here's the thing about a story built on oil. By the mid-1930s, nearby oil production dropped dramatically. And when the oil went quiet, so did the community.

The high school closed in 1936. The elementary school followed in 1943. And in 1945, the buildings were auctioned off and moved away from this site entirely.

Not torn down, not burned, just loaded up and gone. Where there was once a brick high school and a gymnasium and a schoolhouse full of children, there is now just the land, and this marker, and the story of what H. F.

Knippenberg's donated ground once held.

What the marker says

In 1902 Wichita County built a one-room schoolhouse here on land donated by H. F. Knippenberg. The school, named for County Commissioner T. J. Cashion, opened with one teacher, Mrs. Lou (White) Dodson, and 12 students. The original school building was destroyed by fire in 1915 and replaced with a new structure in 1916. Cashion's student enrollment increased significantly as a result of large numbers of people moving to this area following the discovery of oil in nearby Burkburnett in 1918. The school was expanded in 1923 and in 1924 E. F. Gaston donated 3 adjoining acres to the school. A brick high school and gymnasium were built in front of the existing schoolhouse in 1926. The nearby Cooper and Bacon Switch schools merged with Cashion School in 1926-27 and in the 1930-31 school year Cashion reached its highest recorded student enrollment of 286. During this time Cashion School buildings also served the community as a site for social, recreational and political activities. By the mid-1930s nearby oil production dropped dramatically and the community as well as Cashion School declined. The high school closed in 1936 and the elementary school in 1943. The school buildings were auctioned in 1945 and moved off this site. (1993)