Jourdanton I.S.D

Duane's take

The official marker for Jourdanton Independent School District tells it this way, and I'm just the one carryin' the story down the road. Now, every great institution has to start somewhere small, and in the early twentieth century, out in Atascosa County, small is exactly what you got. County schools like the Hilburn School, sittin' northwest of Jourdanton, were doing their level best to serve the area.

But communities have a way of growin', and when enrollment started climbing and the need for teachers pressed in, the people of Jourdanton did what Texans do. They took it to the legislature. In 1911, the State Legislature answered that call.

They authorized the creation of the Jourdanton Independent School District, and here is the part worth savoring: it was the first independent school district in all of Atascosa County. The first. Not the second, not a runner-up.

The first. The residents didn't sit on that authorization for long. They passed a bond election, raised the funds, and put up a three-story brick building right in the center of Jourdanton.

Three stories. In a town that had been making do with a modest country schoolhouse not long before. They weren't thinkin' small anymore.

A football field came next, and a high school building on adjoining lots. Then in 1938, with a helping hand from the Works Progress Administration, a gymnasium was completed. But bricks and gymnasiums don't tell the whole story.

The district faced real hardship. When World War I broke out, and then World War II, the school lost educators and administrators to military service. Think about that for a moment.

The people whose whole purpose was to fill young minds with knowledge, called away. The school held war bond drives right there on campus, doing its part while its own ranks thinned. They came through it.

Communities that are built on something real tend to do that. By 1953, the district needed room to breathe. A new campus was constructed on the southern edge of town, and that campus, I'll have you know, is still standing right there today.

And the graduates? They went everywhere and became everything. Chefs, lawyers, researchers, writers, athletes.

Many attended colleges and then turned right back around and came home to teach the next generation. That's the kind of loyalty that doesn't show up on a trophy case but holds a community together just the same. From a tiny school to a recognized single-campus district, Jourdanton ISD kept its eyes on education and its roots in community.

That's not a small thing. That's the whole thing.

What the marker says

JOURDANTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT FROM A TINY SCHOOL TO AN OFFICIAL, RECOGNIZED SINGLE-CAMPUS CONCEPT, THE JOURDANTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS REMAINED DEDICATED TO EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY. IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY, COUNTY SCHOOLS SUCH AS THE HILBURN SCHOOL NORTHWEST OF JOURDANTON SERVED THE AREA. SOON THE GROWING ENROLLMENT AND NEED FOR TEACHERS PROMPTED THE COMMUNITY TO APPEAL TO THE LEGISLATURE. IN 1911, THE STATE LEGISLATURE AUTHORIZED THE CREATION OF THE JOURDANTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, THE FIRST IN ATASCOSA COUNTY. RESIDENTS QUICKLY PASSED A BOND ELECTION TO BUILD A SCHOOL AND PARK SYSTEM. A THREE-STORY BRICK BUILDING WAS ERECTED IN THE CENTER OF JOURDANTON. A FOOTBALL FIELD AND HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING WERE ADDED ON ADJOINING LOTS. IN 1938, A GYMNASIUM WAS COMPLETED WITH ASSISTANCE FROM THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION. TO ACCOMMODATE A GROWING DISTRICT, A NEW CAMPUS WAS CONSTRUCTED ON THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF TOWN IN 1953 WHERE IT REMAINS TODAY. OVER THE DECADES, JOURDANTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT OVERCAME MANY OBSTACLES. WITH THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR I AND II, THE SCHOOL LOST EDUCATORS AND ADMINISTRATORS TO MILITARY SERVICE AND ASSISTED THE WAR EFFORT BY HOLDING WAR BOND DRIVES ON CAMPUS. MANY STUDENTS FROM THE DISTRICT ATTENDED COLLEGES AND THEN RETURNED TO TEACH THE NEXT GENERATION OF STUDENTS. OTHER GRADUATES HAVE GONE ON TO BECOME CHEFS, LAWYERS, RESEARCHERS, WRITERS, AND ATHLETES. THROUGH COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION AND ACHIEVEMENT, JOURDANTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS CEMENTED ITS REPUTATION FOR EXCELLENCE FOR A VIBRANT AND GROWING COMMUNITY. 175 YEARS OF TEXAS INDEPENDENCE * 1836-2011