Furney Richardson High School

Duane's take

The official marker tells this story, and I'm gonna give it to you the way it deserves to be told. Back in 1933, out in western Freestone County, two school districts decided the time had come to do something bigger. The trustees of Busby School and Grove Island School came together and consolidated into a single district, one built to serve African American children in that part of the county.

Now, consolidating is one thing. Building something real is another. Trustees Wesley Madison, J.H.

Clemons, and Rufus Carter went out and acquired land from the Albert Wright family, and right there, a new campus took shape. They named it for the school's first superintendent, and that fall, Furney Richardson High School opened its doors, offering grades all the way through high school. That first fall.

They didn't wait around. And almost as soon as the school was standing, something else started happening. Several businesses opened up near that school building, one after another, until a whole rural community had formed around it.

A school that drew a community to it like a campfire draws people in from the cold. Furney Richardson became a leading educational institution for African American students in the area. That is not a small thing to say, and it is not said lightly.

For years, it held that place. Then, as it goes with so many things worth mourning, attendance began to wane. By 1958, the high school classes transferred to Teague.

Ten years after that, the entire school merged with Teague. The building didn't disappear, though. It kept going, kept serving, as a community center and a reunion site.

The school that built a community ended up becoming the place that community comes back to. Some stories don't have sad endings. They just change shape.

What the marker says

In 1933, trustees of Busby and Grove Island Schools consolidated as a single district for African American children in western Freestone County. Trustees Wesley Madison, J.H. Clemons and Rufus Carter acquired land from the Albert Wright family, and the new campus, named for the first superindendent, opened here that fall with grades through high school. Several businesses opened near the school building to form a rural community. The school became a leading educational institution for African American students in the area. Attendance waned by 1958, when high school classes transferred to Teague; the entire school merged with Teague ten years later. The schoolhouse continued in use as a community center and reunion site. (2008)