Morris Ranch Schoolhouse

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Out here in Gillespie County, there's a limestone schoolhouse with a story that's quieter than a lot of Texas tales, but no less worth tellin'. This is the Morris Ranch Schoolhouse, and it's been standin' since 1893.

Now, think about that for a second. Eighteen ninety-three. That building was already old when your grandparents were young.

Built from native limestone, the kind of rock this Hill Country practically grows out of the ground, it wasn't just one thing to the people around here. It was several things at once. The central section held an assembly hall, and each wing spread out into its own classroom.

A practical design. Sturdy. The kind of building that means business.

The schoolhouse sat on the Morris Ranch, and that ranch was no ordinary spread. It was a noted center, that's the word the marker uses, noted, for the breeding and training of thoroughbred horses. So picture it.

Children conjugating verbs and working arithmetic in the wings, and somewhere not far off, some of the finest horses in the region getting put through their paces. Local churches also found a home in that native limestone building, holding worship services inside the same walls where the school lessons happened. One building carrying the weight of education, faith, and a whole community's week.

The public school kept right on operating, year after year, decade after decade, all the way until 1962. That's when it merged with the Fredericksburg district, thirteen miles to the northeast. The schoolhouse didn't close in scandal or disaster.

It simply gave what it had, for as long as it was needed, and then stepped aside. That limestone doesn't say much these days. But it doesn't have to.

What the marker says

Built in 1893, this schoolhouse was one of several structures located on the Morris Ranch, a noted center for the breeding and training of thoroughbred horses. Several local churches also used the native limestone building for worship services. The central section housed an assembly hall and each wing contained a classroom. The public school continued in operation until 1962, when it merged with the Fredericksburg district (13 mi. NE). Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1980