DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm going to give it to you straight with a little something extra. Now, if you wanted to draw folks out to a patch of Texas in the early twentieth century, you could do a lot worse than what Hubbard had going for it. Rich soil — the kind that makes a farmer's eyes go soft and dreamy.
A railway line cutting right through, connecting you to the wider world. And then, as if the land itself wanted to sweeten the deal, hot mineral springs bubbling up from the ground like a welcome gift. Travelers came.
Merchants came. Settlers came. And the town grew fast, the way ambitious towns do when everything breaks their way.
By 1911, the city council looked around at all those people putting down roots and said, we need a proper school system. The voters agreed, and they put their money where their ambitions were — approving a twenty-thousand-dollar bond to create and maintain the schools. Twenty thousand dollars.
In 1911. That wasn't pocket change, friend. That was a statement of purpose.
With the bond approved and executed, Hubbard turned to the architectural firm of Field and Clarkson. Now E. Stanley Field worked out of Wichita Falls, and Wiley G.
Clarkson operated out of Fort Worth, and together they had built themselves quite a reputation. Before and after their partnership, these two men had designed many public buildings across Texas. As a team, they'd put their stamp on a three-story addition to the Fort Worth Stockyards Hotel and the Corsicana First National Bank building.
So when Hubbard called, they answered with something worthy of the commission. For the contractor, the town reached out to G.W. Brillhart of Abilene — a man who knew his way around serious construction, having been involved in building the Foard County Courthouse in the Classic Revival style.
Brillhart broke ground immediately, and by 1914, Hubbard High School opened its doors. And what doors they were. The structure rose two stories of red brick and limestone, imposing and confident against the Hill County sky.
Field and Clarkson designed it in the prairie style, with Texas rural Georgian influences woven through — a building that felt rooted, like it had grown right up out of that rich soil along with everything else in Hubbard. For sixty-four years, from 1914 all the way to 1978, that building was the only high school in town. Sixty-four years of students walking those halls, learning what they needed to learn, becoming who they were going to be.
Among them was a young man named Samuel D. Johnson, who would go on to serve as a judge for the Texas Supreme Court and then as a federal judge for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Not bad for a kid from Hubbard.
But in 1978, a larger school was constructed, and the old building's long chapter as a school came to a close. And the way these things so often go, the building fell into disrepair. The years were not gentle.
Then came the 1980s, and with them, a community group that looked at that deteriorating red brick and limestone and refused to let it go quietly. They rescued the building. They established inside it a community center, a genealogy center, museums, a library, and the Tris Speaker Sports Museum.
They gave it a second life. The Texas Historical Commission placed its marker in 2013. And what the marker is really saying, when you read between the lines, is this: some buildings are built well enough to survive one generation's indifference and another generation's love.
The Hubbard High School is one of those buildings.
What the marker says
Rich soil, access to railway transportation and the discovery of hot mineral springs attracted travelers, merchants and settlers to Hubbard and the town quickly grew. In 1911, the city council saw a need for a public school system and later that year, the voters elected to use taxes to create and maintain the schools. Once the $20,000 bond was approved and executed, the architectural firm of Field and Clarkson was selected to design the high school. E. Stanley Field and Wiley G. Clarkson designed many public buildings before and after their partnership in Wichita Falls and Fort Worth, respectively. The architects as a team designed a three-story addition to the Fort Worth Stockyards Hotel and the Corsicana First National Bank building. The contractor for the high school was G.W. Brillhart of Abilene who was involved in the construction of the Foard County Courthouse in the Classic Revival style. Construction on the Hubbard High School began immediately and the school opened in 1914. The imposing two-story red brick and limestone structure was designed in the prairie style with Texas rural Georgian influences. Several notable persons attended this historic school, including Samuel D. Johnson, a judge for the Texas Supreme Court and then a federal judge for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. This school was the only high school in Hubbard from 1914 to 1978, when a larger school was constructed. At that time, the school fell into disrepair. In the 1980s, a community group rescued the building and established a community center, genealogy center, museums, a library and the Tris Speaker Sports Museum. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2013