Lela School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Lela School out in Wheeler County. Now settle in, because this little school had more lives than most towns ever dream of. It started simply enough.

When the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railway came proposing a rail line through the area in 1902, a community sprang up along that proposed route. And the very first thing the residents wanted, before the dust had even settled, was a school for their children. Can't fault them for that.

The community went by the name Story at first, and so did the school. Story school, Story community. Then the post office opened, and it came in under the name Lela.

Just like that, the name changed. The school itself got its start with Fannie Womble as the first teacher, and John Purcell, J. V.

Ford, and J. T. Close serving as the first trustees.

A teacher, three trustees, and a whole lot of hope out there on the Texas Panhandle. Now, the community had something going for it. Good underground water, an abundance of it, and that was no small thing in that part of the world.

But it wasn't quite enough to keep pace with Shamrock, sitting just five miles to the east. By 1920, many of the residents and businesses had packed up and moved on over to Shamrock. You might think that was the end of the story.

It was not. Right about that same time, the long dry creek flooded. A dry creek, flooded.

And Lela, school and all, picked itself up and moved half a mile north, up the hill from its original site. The whole community, relocated. Then came the 1920s, and with them, the discovery and production of natural gas.

Renewed prosperity flowed into this farming and cattle region. The population grew. Things were looking up.

And then, in 1927, the school building burned. Of course it did. But here is where civic leaders stepped in.

They arranged for a new brick school building, one large enough to accommodate that growing population. That building went up in 1928, and it originally housed all grades. In time, the top two grades were discontinued, and Lela students made the trip to Shamrock to finish out their education.

That brick building stood, that district endured, and the school kept serving the community. Nearly ninety years after it all began along that proposed rail line, the Lela School district closed in 1992 and was annexed to the Shamrock school district. Flooded out, burned down, moved up a hill, and still it lasted.

Wheeler County doesn't forget that kind of stubbornness.

What the marker says

Soon after the establishment of this community along the proposed rail line for the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf railway in 1902, residents called for the creation of a school to serve their children. Both the community and the school were known as Story until the post office opened under the name Lela. Fannie Womble served as the first teacher in the Story (Lela) school, with John Purcell, J. V. Ford and J. T. Close as first trustees. Although the community was founded because of its abundance of good underground water, it did not keep pace with Shamrock (5 mi. E) and by 1920 many of the residents and businesses had moved to Shamrock. About the same time, the long dry creek flooded and the community of Lela, including the school, moved up the hill one-half mile north of its original site. The discovery and production of natural gas brought renewed prosperity to this farming and cattle region in the 1920s. After the Lela School building burned in 1927, civic leaders arranged for the construction of a new brick school building that would be large enough to accommodate the increased population brought on by the economic growth. Although the 1928 brick school building originally housed all grades, the top two grades were discontinued after several years, and Lela students traveled to Shamrock to complete their education. After nearly 90 years, the Lela School district closed in 1992 and was annexed to the Shamrock school district. Its history remains a strong part of the rural heritage of Wheeler County. (2001)