Jasper Public Schools

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Now, if you ever find yourself rolling through Jasper, Texas, you might want to picture what this town looked like back in 1851, because that is when they opened the Jasper Collegiate Institute, the very first local center for higher learning in those parts. Partially tax-supported, coeducational, which was not nothing for the time.

And the man they put in charge, the first president, was no ordinary schoolmaster. His name was Marcus Montrose, a noted East Texas educator and a graduate of Edinburgh University. Edinburgh.

They brought some serious pedigree to the piney woods. Then came the Civil War, 1861 to 1865, and the losses it caused hit the Institute hard, the way the war hit just about everything it touched. The school did not survive it.

But Jasper, to its credit, did not let the story end there. In 1878, a new institution rose up in its place. Southeast Texas Male and Female College.

That name carries some ambition, and apparently the college lived up to it, earning what the marker calls an enviable status, backed by the financial support of the citizens of Jasper themselves. That kind of community investment is worth noting. The college ran until 1910 when it closed its doors.

But here is where the story takes one last turn worth telling. The college properties, including a new building that had been erected in 1900, were deeded over to the elementary and high schools of Jasper. One institution closing, and handing everything it had built straight to the next generation.

In Jasper, the schoolhouse kept finding a way to stay standing.

What the marker says

Jasper Collegiate Institute, first local center for higher leaning, opened 1851; partially tax-supported, coeducational. First president was noted East Texas educator Marcus Montrose, graduate, Edinburgh University. After losses caused by Civil War (1861-1865), it was succeeded 1878 by Southeast Texas Male and Female College, which attained enviable status, and enjoyed the financial support of citizens of Jasper before closing in 1910. College properties, including a new building erected 1900, were deeded to the elementary and high schools of Jasper.