Rock Springs Schoolhouse

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Gregg County, there's a little schoolhouse with a story that goes all the way back to 1849. The Rock Springs Schoolhouse.

Built that year with donated labor and donated lumber, which right there tells you something about the kind of people who put it up. These were Tennessee pioneers who had pushed their way into Texas, and when they needed a school, they didn't wait on anybody. They just showed up and built one.

Now somebody had to step up and give the ground to build it on, and that man was Joel Smith, one of the three first trustees. Thomas G. Chisum and James Dillingham, who folks called Squire, rounded out that founding trio.

Three men, one school, one piece of donated land. The first teacher to stand at the front of that room was J. C.

Vernon. And from that first lesson on through the years, decade after decade, one teacher at a time kept that school going all the way into the nineteen thirties. That is a long run for a one-room schoolhouse, and you'd better believe it earned its place in the community.

See, this wasn't just a school. Not even close. The same building that taught children their letters on Monday might host a church service on Sunday, a Grange meeting on a weeknight, a social or a fraternal gathering whenever folks needed to come together, and a political rally when the season called for it.

One little building carrying the weight of a whole community's life. The community itself took its name from the springs nearby, those rock springs that drew settlers and gave the place its character. It's a simple name for a simple, sturdy place.

And that schoolhouse is still there to tell the tale.

What the marker says

Built 1849, with donated labor and lumber. One-teacher school was taught here until 1930's. First teacher was J. C. Vernon. First trustees: Thomas G. Chisum, James "Squire" Dillingham, Joel Smith. (Smith donated the site.) Building was also used for church, Grange, socials, fraternal meetings, and political rallies. Community named for nearby springs. Settled by pioneers from Tennessee. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966