Divide School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Divide School, out here in Kerr County. Now, picture this. The year is 1882, and there are no schoolhouses, no districts, no tax rolls.

Just open ranch land, a hired teacher, and exactly two families in the whole vicinity who even have children to educate. Those two families paid that teacher's salary themselves, out of pocket, and class was held right there in the teacher's home. That was it.

That was the whole school. Things grew slowly out here, the way things do on the western range. By 1893, the ranching families of the area had multiplied enough that something more permanent was called for.

William and Lou Wharton stepped up and provided the land for a one-room schoolhouse. One room. But it was a real building, a real school, and it sat approximately one mile southeast of what is now the intersection of Texas Highway 41 and U.S.

Highway 83. Then, in 1905, that building picked up and moved. The whole schoolhouse was relocated to the Emil Leinweber Ranch, to put it closer to where the school-age children actually were at that time.

Because out here, you don't wait for the kids to come to the school. You move the school to the kids. Now, even with a building, there was still no guaranteed school year.

Classes lasted exactly as long as the families could afford to keep paying a teacher. Some years that was longer. Some years, shorter.

It was a fragile arrangement, and everyone knew it. That changed in 1909. A man named Fred B.

Klein put forward a proposal, and the residents agreed. They would establish the Divide Common School District, a real, organized district with structure and intention. The name came from the land itself.

A long ridge runs through this country, dividing the watersheds between the Llano River to the north and the Guadalupe River to the south and east. That ridge gave the district its name. The newly formed district served families across a vast portion of western Kerr County, and the dispersed community came together to build a new school building on the Dee Hughs Ranch.

And here is the part that would have seemed like a luxury just a few years before: the district established a tax-supported, nine-month school year. For students through the sixth grade. Funded.

Reliable. Consistent. Time moved on.

The state constructed Highway 41, and the world got a little more connected out here. In 1936, the district trustees made one more move. They built a new schoolhouse at this very location, on the F.B.

Klein Ranch, and they named it the Divide School. Now, here is the thing about the Divide School that sets it apart from almost every other school district you will ever hear about. From its beginnings in the 1880s all the way through, the district has included vast stretches of ranch land, but not a single town or city within its boundaries.

Not one. It has always served the scattered families of the range, and nothing else. In 1988, the district became independent, and it is still out here, still serving the families of western Kerr County.

Same ridge dividing the same watersheds. Same wide open country. Just a little more organized than two families splitting a teacher's wages in somebody's front room.

What the marker says

The first school classes held in this vicinity began in 1882, in the home of a hired teacher. The only two area families with children paid the instructor's salary. In 1893, William and Lou Wharton provided land for a one-room schoolhouse to meet the growing needs of the local ranching families. Originally located approximately one mile southeast of the present Texas Highway 41 and U.S. Highway 83 intersection, the building was moved to the Emil Leinweber Ranch in 1905 to be closer to the area's school-age children at that time. The school year lasted as long as area families could afford to pay a teacher. In 1909, wanting to establish a more consistent school system, residents agreed to Fred B. Klein's proposal to establish the Divide Common School District. Named for a long ridge that divides the watersheds for the Llano River to the north and the Guadalupe River to the south and east, the district served families in a vast portion of western Kerr County. The dispersed community built a new school building on the Dee Hughs Ranch, and the district established a tax-supported, nine-month school year for students through the sixth grade. In 1936, several years after the state constructed Highway 41, district trustees built a new schoolhouse at this location on the F.B. Klein Ranch. They named the new facility the Divide School. From its beginnings in the 1880s, the Divide School has included vast acreage of ranch land, but has had no towns or cities within its boundaries. The district became independent in 1988, and it continues to serve families of western Kerr County. (2006)