Center Point School

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to do it justice. Before the community of Zanzenburg and Center Point had much of anything to call their own, they still had children who needed schooling. And so school happened wherever it could, in shacks, in homes, wherever four walls and a teacher could be found in the same place at the same time.

From 1873 to 1875, a man named B.F. Johnson took on that task, teaching classes in the first school held in various buildings scattered around the area. No permanent home, just determination on the move.

Then from 1876 to 1884, things got a little more settled. The Center Point Academy stepped in as the community's school, and that was something. But 1884 brought a turning point.

Dr. J.C. Nowlin donated an acre of land, just gave it, for the purpose of a school building.

And on that land, a plank building was erected. A real building, in a real spot. Now, that plank building served its purpose, but this story has another chapter, and it's a good one.

In 1910, a San Antonio architect named Alfred Giles designed what would come next, and a builder named J.V. Oppert put it up. A two-story limestone building, the kind that says we are staying.

The school officially opened for classes in the fall of 1911. And here is where the story lands, and lands hard. That limestone building is still standing.

Students are still receiving an education inside it, more than a hundred years on, and it serves as an educational and social hub for Center Point. Some things get built to last. That building is one of them.

What the marker says

Prior to the settlement of the community of Zanzenburg and Center Point, school was taught in shacks and homes. From 1873-1875, B.F. Johnson taught classes in the first school held in various buildings in the area. From 1876-1884, the Center Point Academy served as the community's school. In 1884, Dr. J.C. Nowlin donated an acre of land for a school building and a plank building was erected. In 1910, San Antonio architect Alfred Giles designed and J. V. Oppert built a two-story limestone building. The school officially opened for classes in the fall of 1911. Students still receive an education in the original limestone building, which serves as an educational and social hub for Center Point. (2011)