Juan Seguin School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker for Juan Seguin School has to say, and it's a story worth sitting with. Guadalupe County, in the heart of Texas, was growing fast in the early twentieth century. The population of students of Mexican descent was rising, drawn partly from families already rooted in the region, and partly from immigrants who had come from Mexico fleeing the dangers of their country's revolution.

Schools had to keep pace, and the decisions made about how to do that left a mark that lasted for generations. In 1902, the local school board, under the leadership of the city of Seguin, passed a motion to establish a separate school for Mexican children. That word, separate, carries weight.

It always does. Juan Seguin School opened in 1903, and from the very beginning it was navigating a world that had already decided where it fit. Those first students met not in a purpose-built schoolhouse, but in a home owned by William Greifenstein, whom the Seguin City Council paid monthly for the use of that house.

Borrowed walls, but real learning happening inside them. By 1906, a man named William Blumberg arranged with the city council to build an actual schoolhouse, on North Pecan Street, later known as East Cedar Street. Things were moving, slowly, but moving.

By 1915, the city began making efforts to secure a permanent site. In 1916, an independent school district was established, and a bond to raise money for purchasing that permanent site was put to a vote. It was defeated.

But the next year, another bond went to the voters. That one passed. And in 1918, Mexican Public School Ward Number Two, as it was then known, was built on the corner of Dolle and Medlin Streets.

Grades one through six attended. One room at first. Then more rooms were added, and more still, and by 1948, the school had several rooms, an office, and an auditorium.

A full institution, built piece by piece out of persistence. In 1971, Juan Seguin School merged with Lizzie M. Burges School, before the campus became one school again in 1975.

Juan Seguin Elementary School finally closed in 2010. But here's the thing about a school. Its walls can close and its doors can lock, and the story doesn't end there.

Its impact, the marker says, remains felt through the generations of students who attended and through its success as an institution where Hispanic students received an education. That's not a small thing. That's the whole thing.

What the marker says

Guadalupe County was home to a number of rural schools for the area's burgeoning population of students of Mexican descent. In addition to those already living here, immigrants came from Mexico in the early 20th century, fleeing for safety during that country's revolution. In 1902, the local school board, under the leadership of the city of Seguin, passed a motion to establish a separate school for Mexican children. Juan Seguin School, opened in 1903, was an early model of a segregated urban school for children of Mexican heritage. Students first met in a home owned by William Greifenstein, whom the Seguin City Council paid monthly for the house's use. In 1906, William Blumberg arranged with the city council to build a school house on North Pecan Street (later East Cedar Street). By 1915, the city began to make efforts to secure a permanent site for the school. In 1916, an independent school district was established and along with this effort, a bond for raising money to purchase a site for the Mexican school was put to vote. Though defeated, a bond the next year was successful, and in 1918, Mexican Public School Ward #2, as it was then known, was built on the corner of Dolle and Medlin Streets. Grades one through six attended the school. More classrooms were added to the original one-room structure, and by 1948, the school had several rooms, an office, and an auditorium. Juan Seguin School merged with Lizzie M. Burges School in 1971, before the campus became one school again in 1975. Juan Seguin Elementary School closed in 2010. However, its impact remains felt through the generations of students that attended and its success as an institution where Hispanic students received an education. (2010)