Public Education in Mesquite

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Mesquite, Texas, a community decided early on that its children were going to learn something. Back in 1885, they founded a community school, and that school kept the doors open and the lessons coming until something bigger could take its place.

That something bigger arrived in 1902, right here on this very site, when the first building of the newly formed Mesquite Independent School District opened its doors. Two hundred students walked in on day one. Two hundred.

For a young district, that is not a small number. That is a statement of intent. And Mesquite meant every word of it.

The community kept pushing. By 1923 they had erected a high school, and by 1924 that high school had earned its accreditation. One year to build the thing, one more year to prove it was worth building.

Then came the late 1930s, and Mesquite built again. A new high school rose up, and alongside it, the George W. Carver School opened to serve African American students in the area.

The district would carry that divided arrangement forward until 1964, when it was integrated. More buildings were acquired as the need came calling, and the need kept coming. By 1997, Mesquite Independent School District was carrying an enrollment of thirty thousand students.

Thirty thousand. You go back and tell those two hundred kids who walked through the door in 1902 that number, and see what they say. Mesquite High School stands today as a focal point of public education in the area, and that, friend, is a long way from a community school founded on faith and stubbornness in 1885.

What the marker says

Founded in 1885, the Mesquite community school served students until the first building of the newly formed Mesquite Independent School District was completed on this site in 1902, beginning with 200 students. Through strong community support, a high school was erected in 1923 and accredited in 1924. In the late 1930s a new high school was completed, and the George W. Carver School was opened for area African American students. The district was integrated in 1964. More buildings were acquired as needed. With a district enrollment of 30,000 in 1997, Mesquite High School remains a focal point of public education in the area. (1998)