DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of the story as the official marker records it. Now settle in, because this one goes back a long ways — and it earns every mile. Education for Victoria's African American schoolchildren didn't wait for anyone's permission.
It started during Reconstruction, and we know this because an 1868 deed references a freedman's school right there on East Convent Street. By 1875, three of the city's ten schools were serving African American pupils. Three out of ten.
That's not nothing — that's a community staking its claim on the future. Then along comes the man at the center of this story. Professor Frederick W.
Gross arrived in Victoria about 1887, and the credentials he carried were formidable. He'd attended Wiley College and Bishop College right here in Texas, and then Fisk University, and then the University of Chicago. That is a man who knew what learning looked like from every angle.
He served as principal for twenty years. Twenty years. During that tenure, the Victoria Independent School District was organized in 1898.
Four years later, in 1902, a prominent brick schoolhouse went up at that same East Convent Street site where it had all begun back in 1868. The school was dedicated as the Victoria Colored School — that was the official name — but folks around town had their own name for it. They called it The Gross School.
When Professor Gross left Victoria to become president of The Houston Academy, C.H. McGruder, a teacher at the Victoria Colored School, stepped up as principal in 1907 and served for sixteen years. Then came A.D.
Sheffield, a Victoria County native, who held the post for fifteen years. Now here's where the story folds back on itself in a satisfying way. In 1934, Sheffield wrote a history of African American education in Victoria — and in that history, he suggested the school be officially renamed after Gross.
The school board approved the change the following year. The Gross School became F.W. Gross High School, official and on the record.
But the building was straining at the seams. Overcrowding pushed the community toward action, and a 1938 bond election, backed by supplemental federal funding through the Public Works Administration, resulted in a new building rising on South Depot Street in 1939. That campus carried a reputation for excellence — in academics and in athletics — and it served as Victoria's high school for African American students until integration in 1966.
Later it became an elementary school. And since 1979, the alumni have gathered every year, annual reunions keeping the traditions and the history alive. A freedman's school in an 1868 deed.
A brick building, a brick-by-brick reputation, and a name that the community gave the place long before the official paperwork caught up. Some things, it turns out, don't need a school board vote to make them true.
What the marker says
Education of Victoria’s African American schoolchildren began during reconstruction; a freedman’s school on East Convent Street is referenced in an 1868 deed. By 1875, three of the city’s ten schools served African American pupils. Prof. Frederick W. Gross, who attended Texas’ Wiley and Bishop Colleges as well as Fisk University and the University of Chicago, came to Victoria about 1887 and was a principal for twenty years. His tenure included organization of the Victoria Independent School District in 1898, and construction of a prominent brick schoolhouse at the East Convent Street site in 1902. Although the school was dedicated as the Victoria Colored School, many residents referred to the facility as “The Gross School.” Gross left Victoria to become president of The Houston Academy. C.H. McGruder, a teacher at the Victoria Colored School, succeeded Gross as principal in 1907 and served for sixteen years. Victoria County native A.D. Sheffield followed as principal for fifteen years. His 1934 history of African American education in Victoria suggested officially renaming the school after Gross; the school board approved the change the following year. Due to overcrowding at the school, a 1938 bond election and supplemental federal funding through the Public Works Administration resulted in construction of a new building on South Depot Street in 1939. The school maintained a reputation for excellence in academics and athletics. This campus continued as Victoria’s high school for African American students until integration in 1966, and later as an elementary school. Since 1979, annual alumni reunions have preserved the traditions and history of this historic school.