DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Martindale School and Gymnasium — so settle in. Now, some buildings just hold space. And then there are buildings that hold a whole town together.
From 1921 to 1968, the Martindale School and Gymnasium was that second kind of place — the beating heart of a farming community in Caldwell County, Texas. Let's start at the beginning. The town was growin', and a growin' population of students needed a proper home.
So they called on Austin architects C.H. Page and Brother, who drew up plans in mission revival style — grand, solid, the kind of building that meant something. In 1921, concrete was hauled in by horse and carriage all the way from San Antonio, mixed right there on site, and finished with stucco.
They weren't cutting corners on Old Martindale School. And the community took to it. Oh, did they take to it.
Carnivals rolled through. Miss Louise Lawson held her music classes there. And if you needed a fundraiser — well, somebody had the inspired idea of putting faculty members on donkeys and letting them play basketball.
Faculty. On donkeys. Playing basketball.
You could not have paid me to miss that. Then came 1939, right in the teeth of the Great Depression, and somehow — somehow — the Wildcats got themselves a gymnasium. The architects Driscoll and Gross, the same firm known for the Barton Springs Bathhouse and Deep Eddy Bathhouse in Austin, designed it with hollow tile and roof trusses by Carnegie Steel.
Federal New Deal agencies helped fund the construction. In lean times, the community still found a way to build something worth gathering in. Now, not everything in this story is a carnival and donkey basketball.
In 1948, 140 Hispanic students were desegregated from a separate schoolhouse and joined the main Martindale School. The marker also notes plainly: there is no evidence or recollection of African American students attending Martindale School at all. Those are facts that belong to this history, and they deserve to sit here without decoration.
By the 1960s, the tide was turning. Residents were flocking to urban areas, attendance was declining, and the community faced a contentious vote — contentious, mind you, that's the word on the marker — to merge with the San Marcos district. That vote came in 1965.
The school closed in 1968, and in the years after, the property moved through various commercial and residential uses. But here's the thing about a place that held a whole town's memories for nearly five decades. It doesn't just become a footnote.
The site remains significant in the educational and cultural history of Martindale — because some buildings, even after the last bell rings, never quite stop holding people together.
What the marker says
Martindale’s School and Gymnasium operated from 1921-1968 and served as a gathering spot for the entire community. Many recall fond and formative memories of “Old Martindale School,” whose large size brought the town together in sharing culture through education and entertainment. Residents looked forward to events like carnivals, Miss Louise Lawson’s music classes and fundraising events like faculty members playing basketball while riding donkeys. The growing population of students in the farming town required a suitable site for classrooms and school functions. The new building was designed by Austin architects C.H. Page & Bro. in mission revival style. Built in 1921, concrete was transported by horse and carriage from San Antonio to be mixed on site and finished with stucco. In 1939, during the Great Depression, the Wildcats gladly welcomed the construction of a gymnasium. Austin architects Driscoll and Gross (also known for Barton Springs Bathhouse and Deep Eddy Bathhouse in Austin) designed the building with hollow tile and roof trusses by Carnegie Steel. Construction was partially funded by the Federal New Deal agencies. The desegregation of 140 Hispanic students from a separate schoolhouse to join the main Martindale School occurred in 1948. There is no evidence or recollection of African American students attending Martindale School. Overall attendance declined as many residents flocked to urban areas in the 1960s. This caused depopulation and a contentious vote for the school to be merged with the San Marcos district in 1965. In the years after the school closed, the property served in various commercial and residential capacities. The site remains significant in the educational and cultural history of the community. (2019)