Hempstead High School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Hempstead High School in Waller County. Now settle in, because this story starts before there was even a building to tell a story about. When the town of Hempstead was founded in 1856, somebody had the good sense to plat a school site right in the center of town.

A fine plan. The only problem was, no school building got erected. Not then.

The Civil War came, 1861 to 1865, and after that came the kind of economic stress that has a way of shelving fine plans indefinitely. So the town made do. There were private schools conducted here and there, and when public school sessions finally got going, they were held in rented quarters.

And I do mean rented quarters. The old Waller County Jail. Two hundred and fifty dollars a year, from 1881 to 1887.

Children doing their lessons behind the same walls built to hold the lawless. Texas will find a way. In 1885, the town passed a bond issue for a proper school building to be erected on that very site platted back in 1856.

And when the building was ready, they did not just quietly move in. In 1887, to the cheers of townsmen lining the streets, the principal, his faculty, and the students paraded from the jail to the new school. Ten thousand dollars it had cost.

And they fenced it, which tells you something about Hempstead in 1887, because the fence was there to keep out stock allowed to run at large in the town. That same year, the Hempstead graded school became Hempstead High School. First graduation exercises were held in 1888, for six students.

Six. The school has been growing ever since. Accreditation came through affiliation with the University of Texas in 1893, held steady except for a lapse from 1907 to 1914.

The course of study ran ten grades in 1887 and 1888, climbed to eleven in 1913 and 1914, and reached twelve in 1941 and 1942. The school plant was enlarged in 1914, again in 1923, in 1936, in 1955, and once more in 1963. And that original district, eleven and a half square miles, has expanded through consolidations to about two hundred square miles.

From a jail cell to two hundred square miles of Texas learning. That parade in 1887 covered a lot more ground than anyone standing on those streets could have known.

What the marker says

When the town of Hempstead was founded in 1856, a centrally located school site was platted; however, no school building was erected until after the Civil War (1861-65) and ensuing era of economic stress. There were several private schools conducted, and early public school sessions were held in rented quarters, the old Waller County Jail being used at $250 a year rental from 1881 to 1887. In 1885 the town passed a bond issue for a school building to be erected here. To the cheers of townsmen lining the streets, the principal, his faculty, and the students paraded in 1887 from the jail to the new school building, which had cost $10,000 and was fenced to keep out stock allowed to run at large in the town. The Hempstead "graded" school became "Hempstead High School" that year. First graduation exercises (for six students) were held in 1888. Accreditation has been maintained since affiliation with the University of Texas in 1893, except for a 1907-14 lapse. From ten grades in 1887-88, the course of study increased to eleven in 1913-14, and twelve in 1941-42. The school plant was enlarged in 1914, 1923, 1936, 1955, and 1963. Original 11.5-square-mile district has expanded through consolidations to about 200 square miles. (1972)