Robinson School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker for Robinson School has to say, out here in Palo Pinto County. Now, every good story starts with somebody who's had just about enough, and in 1937, that somebody was Guy U. Robinson.

Guy led his neighbors to petition the county for a new common school district, and the spark behind it, at least in part, was a protest against high school taxes over in Strawn. When a man starts organizing his neighbors over a tax bill, you know he means business. The county listened, and things started moving.

Leo Ankenbauer sold two acres of land to the school trustees, and then craftsmen Bill Roberson and W. Proctor, both out of Strawn, got to work. They built a one-room, red brick schoolhouse, and they built it fast enough that classes could begin that very September of 1937.

Now, don't let anybody tell you this place was plain. Darker brick at the corners, darker brick framing the windows and the door, gave the little building some ornament, a touch of care worked into an otherwise simple vernacular structure. Somebody wanted it to look like it mattered.

And it did matter, for a while. Children came, lessons were taught, seasons turned. But by 1943, the number of pupils had declined to two.

Just two. And that was that. Robinson School closed its doors.

What's left standing today is described on the marker as a unique reminder of the county's rural educational history, and when you think about it, that's exactly right. It took a whole community's worth of effort, a petition, a land sale, two craftsmen, and one determined man named Guy Robinson, to build something that served its purpose, however brief, and then stood quiet. Sometimes the smallest schoolhouse holds the biggest story.

What the marker says

In 1937, Guy U. Robinson led his neighbors to petition the county for a new common school district, in part to protest high school taxes in Strawn. Leo Ankenbauer sold two acres of land to school trustees, and craftsmen Bill Roberson and W. Proctor of Strawn completed this one-room, red brick schoolhouse in time for classes to begin in September 1937. Darker brick at the corners and around the windows and the door provide some ornament to the simple vernacular structure. In use only until 1943, when the number of pupils declined to two, Robinson School is a unique reminder of the county's rural educational history. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2001