First School House

Duane's take

The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Out here in Brewster County, where the land doesn't give up its secrets easy, there's a little building in Marathon that has been standin' longer than just about anything else of its kind around these parts. The oldest school building in the whole county: built in 1888.

Think about that for a moment. Eighteen eighty-eight. Out here in this stretch of West Texas, somebody put up a schoolhouse.

And once they had it, well, they weren't about to let it sit idle after the lessons were done. That building became the place where the community gathered for all public meetings; every one of them; and every election held in the area. One building carrying the weight of an entire community's civic life.

That's not a small thing. Then came 1928, and the ladies of the Marathon Study Club took a long look at that aging structure and decided it wasn't going anywhere on their watch. They restored it.

Brought it back. And when the work was done, it took on a new name: the Club House; though it never forgot what it was first. The oldest schoolhouse in Brewster County, still standing, still known.

Some buildings just refuse to be forgotten, and out here in Marathon, this one has earned that right.

What the marker says

Oldest school building in Brewster County. Built in 1888. Used for all public meetings and all elections. Restored in 1928 by ladies of Marathon Study Club. Is known as the Club House. Recored Texas Historic Landmark, 1965.