Linnie Roberts Elementary School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Linnie Roberts Elementary School in Matagorda County. Let me set the scene for you. By 1894, Matagorda County already had twenty African American schools serving more than seven hundred students.

Twenty schools. Seven hundred children learning to read and write and figure and dream. That is a community that took education seriously.

The first school for African American children in Bay City itself was a humble one-room frame building — donated by one of the railroad companies. That's where it started. One room.

And from that one room, something grew. In 1905, the community built a new school at Avenue A and Second Street, and they named it in honor of Booker T. Washington, the noted African American educator.

The school carried that name for years, and later became known as Hilliard School. And it was inside those walls that a woman named Linnie Roberts showed up to work — and then kept showing up, year after year after year. Linnie McHenry Roberts was born in 1893 in the Caney area of the county.

She attended Samuel Huston College in Austin and Prairie View A&M College — and when she was done with her schooling, she turned right around and gave it back. She taught elementary school classes for thirty-two years. Thirty-two years of lesson plans, of worried parents, of children who needed someone in their corner.

And by every account the marker gives us, she earned genuine respect — from her colleagues, from her students — through her caring actions and her support of the community. She retired in 1955. She passed in 1956.

She is buried next to her husband at Eastview Cemetery in Bay City. Now, Bay City kept growing. Cities have a way of doing that.

And by 1960, the school board was making plans to build something new. They brought in the Houston architectural firm of Koetter and Tharp, who designed a one-story building — three wings, laid out in a U-shaped plan, steel framing faced with red brick in a running bond pattern. Twenty-one classrooms, plus a cafeteria, a library, and offices.

A proper school. In April of 1961, the school board made an announcement: this new facility would be named Linnie Roberts Elementary School. And come September of that same year, the doors opened — four hundred and seventy-one students, seventeen teachers, grades one through six.

Over the years the school served various grades, and through it all, the exterior changed very little. The architectural integrity of that postwar institutional design held. The building is still standing.

And that, right there, is the whole story in one image: a one-room donated frame building that became a twenty-one-classroom school bearing the name of a woman who spent thirty-two years making sure children had what they needed. Linnie Roberts didn't build a monument. She just kept showing up.

Turns out, that was enough.

What the marker says

By 1894, Matagorda County had 20 African American schools with more than 700 students. The first school for African American children in Bay City was a one-room frame building donated by one of the railroad companies. In 1905, the community built a new school at Avenue A and Second Street named in honor of noted African American educator Booker T. Washington. One of the long-time teachers at Booker T. Washington, later known as Hilliard School, was Linnie (McHenry) Roberts (1893-1956). She was born in the Caney area of the county and attended Samuel Huston College in Austin and Prairie View A&M College. Linnie Roberts taught elementary school classes for 32 years, earning respect from colleagues and students through her caring actions and community support. Linnie retired in 1955 and is buried next to her husband at Eastview Cemetery in Bay City. The city's population continued to grow and, by 1960, the school board made plans to construct a new school. The Houston architectural firm of Koetter and Tharp designed the one-story building with three wings in a U-shaped plan, built of steel framing and faced with red brick in running bond pattern. The school included 21 classrooms plus cafeteria, library and offices. In April 1961, the school board announced that the new facility would be named Linnie Roberts Elementary School; it opened in September 1961 with 471 students and 17 teachers for grades one through six. Over the years, the school was used for various grades with minimal changes to the exterior, retaining architectural integrity of the postwar institutional design. The school building remains as a reminder of the impact of Linnie Roberts and her significance in the community. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2020