Lorraine Crosby School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Lorraine Crosby School in Hitchcock, Galveston County. Now settle in, because this story starts long before there was a school building, or even a proper lot to put one on. It starts in somebody's front room.

In 1903, the first school for African American children in Hitchcock was held in the home of Louis Brown. A man offered his house, and that was that. That was the school.

From there, the Galilee Baptist Church stepped in with a small annex out on what they called Little Ben's Farm, over the bayou, and then later the church auditorium itself became the classroom. The community kept finding a way. By 1910, four members of the church home missionary society sat down together and started talking about something more permanent, a real schoolhouse, somewhere near the Santa Fe Railroad.

The school board said they'd build it, but only if the community could purchase the lot themselves. Now, funds were limited. Sometimes non-existent.

But limited funds have never stopped a determined community in Texas, and they are not about to start here. Citizens sponsored fish fries. They held fundraisers.

They scraped and they planned and they raised what they needed. In 1914, the lot at 7801 Burns Street was purchased, the city built the school, and it opened under the name Hitchcock Colored School. It was a beginning.

A real, brick-and-mortar beginning. And among the people who would shape what happened inside those walls, one name stands above the rest. Mrs.

Lorraine Crosby, teacher and principal, a woman who instilled high standards and strength in her students. She must have known, in the way that the best teachers always know, that she was building something that would outlast her. And it did.

In 1949, after her death, the school was named in her honor. The Lorraine Crosby School. By 1952, the school had grown enough to need more space, and additional facilities were added.

Then again in 1959, the footprint expanded once more because the community it served kept growing. Now, before 1956, any student in Hitchcock who wanted a high school education had to leave, transferring to Galveston or La Marque. That is worth sitting with for a moment.

But even before that changed, even with supplies scarce and budgets thin, the staff and the parents and the neighbors filled the gaps. The Lorraine Crosby School had a football team, a track team, a basketball team, and a boy scout troop. The first graduating class walked across that stage in 1960.

The last did so in May of 1965. In 1966, integration came, and Lorraine Crosby School became a middle school for a time before that chapter closed too. The marker puts it plainly, and plainly is how it ought to be said.

At a time when African American schools had few resources, Lorraine Crosby School was an integral part of the community. It started in a man's living room in 1903, was bought with fish-fry money, named for a woman whose standards outlived her, and it sent young people out into the world for decades. That's not just a school.

That's a whole community deciding, again and again, that their children deserved more. And making sure they got it.

What the marker says

Opening in 1914, the Lorraine Crosby School served as an educational stepping stone for the African American children of Hitchcock. In 1903, the first school was held in the home of Louis Brown. Later, the Galilee Baptist Church offered a small annex on "Little Ben's Farm" over the bayou and then the church auditorium. In 1910, four members of the church home missionary society discussed a more permanent home for the school near the Santa Fe Railroad. The school board agreed to build a school if the community purchased the lot. To purchase the property, citizens sponsored fish fries and other fundraisers. In 1914, the lot at 7801 Burns Street was purchased. The city built a school and it opened as Hitchcock Colored School. One notable teacher and principal of the school was Mrs. Lorraine Crosby. She instilled high standards and strength in her students and, in 1949 after her death, the school was named in her honor. By 1952, the school footprint expanded with additional facilities for the growing school and again in 1959. Prior to 1956, students wishing to continue their education in high school had to transfer to Galveston or La Marque. Even though funds were limited or non-existent for supplies and activities, staff, parents and community members helped meet the needs of the students. As a result, Lorraine Crosby School had a football team, track team, basketball team and a boy scout troop. The first graduating class was in 1960 and the last was in May 1965. In 1966, the schools integrated and the Lorraine Crosby School became a middle school for a short time. At a time when African American schools had few resources, Lorraine Crosby School was an integral part of the community and will live on in the community's memory as their educational beginning.