Site of Friberg School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this place, right here in Wichita County. Now settle in, because this one's got a beginning, a long middle, and an ending that'll stick with you. The story of Friberg School starts in 1895, when the school was created to serve families in this area.

Simple enough start. But here's the thing about schools out on the Texas plains. You don't always have a building when you need one.

So by 1896, students were attending classes in a granary. Not a proper schoolhouse, mind you. A granary, owned by a man named Will Friberg.

You do what you have to do. Then the very next year, John Friberg donated land right here, and a two-room schoolhouse was erected. Two rooms.

That's your foundation. That's where it begins in earnest. Now a schoolhouse out in this country was never just a schoolhouse.

It was the place where the community came together, the gathering place, the kind of building that holds more than desks and chalk. It holds people. And people kept coming.

By 1922, enrollment had grown enough that a third room was added. The school was expanding, putting down roots, becoming something permanent, or so it seemed. In 1931, upper level students began attending Wichita Falls High School.

And then in 1956, Clay County's Thornberry School consolidated with Friberg, folding one community's story into another. You might think a school that had weathered decades of growth, two Fribergs, a granary, and a county consolidation could weather just about anything. Then came 1969.

A fire. And when it was over, only the cafeteria was left standing. After that fire, Friberg School closed.

All that's left now is this marker, and the memory of what stood here. Started in a granary. Ended in ashes.

That's the whole of it, and it's enough.

What the marker says

Friberg School was created in 1895 to serve families in this area. By 1896 students attended classes in a granary owned by Will Friberg; the following year John Friberg donated land here and a 2-room schoolhouse was erected. The school also served as a community gathering place, and by 1922 increased enrollment led to the addition of a third room. Upper level students began attending Wichita Falls High School in 1931, and in 1956 Clay County's Thornberry School consolidated with Friberg. After a 1969 fire left only the cafeteria intact, Friberg School closed.