DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Reinhardt Elementary School in Dallas County. Now settle in, because this one starts small — real small — and just keeps on growing. We're talkin' about a little frame schoolhouse, built back in the 1880s on the farm of a man named John Chenault.
Nothing grand about it. Just four walls and a roof, out there to serve the children of early settlers in the area. Could've stayed that way forever.
But then the Santa Fe Railroad came through. About 1885, they built a line right through the area and threw up a depot, and just like that, the way these things tend to go, a town started taking shape around it. That town got named Reinhardt, after a Dallas merchant by the name of Isadore Reinhardt.
And before long, this little spot on the map was boasting two stores, a cotton gin, and a bank. A whole world rising up out of the prairie. By 1900, the town had grown enough to need a proper school building — a new frame structure, constructed near the rail line.
Two teachers. All grades. You let that sink in a moment.
Two teachers, all grades, every child in the place. About 1910, a second frame building went up on the opposite side of the railroad tracks, as if the school itself couldn't quite contain what was happening here. Then in 1921, that second building got replaced — and this time, they weren't messin' around.
A two-story red brick school building went up in its place. Solid. Permanent.
The kind of thing that says we're stayin'. Now jump ahead to the 1930s. The Casa Linda neighborhood was being developed, and Reinhardt needed to grow again.
So in 1941, a larger Reinhardt Elementary School was built right here at this site. Four years later, in 1945, the town of Reinhardt was annexed to the city of Dallas, and Reinhardt Elementary became part of the Dallas School System. From a single frame schoolhouse on John Chenault's farm to a cornerstone of a major American city — that's not a small journey.
The school kept growing over the years, serving an ever-increasing enrollment, and in time it earned a title that says everything you need to know: the Mother School of Casa View Elementary and several other schools in the area. The children of this place scattered out and planted new schools across Dallas like seeds off a mesquite tree. Started on one man's farm.
Ended up raisin' a city.
What the marker says
Reinhardt Elementary School traces its history to the 1880s, when a small frame schoolhouse was built on the farm of John Chenault to serve children of early settlers in this vicinity. After the Santa Fe Railroad built a line through the area and erected a depot about 1885, a town evolved and was named Reinhardt for Dallas merchant Isadore Reinhardt. Soon the town boasted two stores, a cotton gin, and a bank, and by 1900 a new frame school building was constructed near the rail line. Two teachers taught students in all grades. About 1910 a second frame building was erected on the opposite side of the railroad tracks, and in 1921 it was replaced by a two-story red brick school building. After the Casa Linda neighborhood was developed in the 1930s a larger Reinhardt Elementary School was built at this site in 1941. Reinhardt became a part of the Dallas School System in 1945 when the town of Reinhardt was annexed to the city of Dallas. Enlarged over the years to serve an ever-increasing enrollment, Reinhardt Elementary School continues to play an important role in Dallas education. It is considered the "Mother School" of Casa View Elementary and several other schools in the area.