Cedar Point School

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Out here in Erath County, there's a place called Cedar Point School, and its story goes back further than that name does. It started life as the Elm Grove School, way back around 1860, in a log cabin sitting nearly two miles east of where the building stands today.

That's where this community first gathered to learn, in a simple cabin, before most of the county had much of anything at all. Then came 1894, and a man named J. J.

Davidson did something worth remembering. He donated three acres of land right here to the community. On that ground, a school went up, one teacher, forty to fifty students, the whole neighborhood's children under one roof.

Now, you'd think that would be the end of the story. Building built, community served, done. But this particular school had a harder road than that.

In 1908, a windstorm destroyed the first building. Gone. So they rebuilt.

And in 1928, fire destroyed that second structure too. Two buildings, two different forces of nature, and both times this community got back up. When the school finally closed in 1948, it wasn't abandoned.

It was deeded to the community, the people it had always belonged to anyway. And here's the part that earns this story its ending: Cedar Point School is still in use today, still a center for local events and activities. Some places refuse to stop mattering, and this is one of them.

What the marker says

Originally known as Elm Grove School, the Cedar Point School began about 1860 in a log cabin nearly 2 miles east of this site. In 1894 J. J. Davidson donated three acres of land here to the community. The school built on this site housed one teacher and 40-50 students. The first building was destroyed by a windstorm in 1908, and the rebuilt structure was destroyed by fire in 1928. The school was a meeting place for the surrounding area, and was deeded to the community after the school closed in 1948. Cedar Point School continues to be used as a center for local events and activities. (1996)