DUANE
Duane's take
The way I tell it, this one comes straight from the official marker — so let me give it to you true. Somewhere in Anderson County, there's a patch of ground that carries a story about what people will do when the odds are stacked against them and the children still need schooling. This is that story.
In the late 19th century, African Americans in Texas were building an education system under adverse conditions — and in this part of the state, students made their way to schools with names like Mt. Moriah, Boxes Creek, Beulah, Washington Chapel, Union Hope, and New Mt. Zion.
The school year was kept short on purpose, cut to fit the planting and harvest seasons so children could work alongside their parents. What time they did get in the classroom, they spent on the basics — reading, writing, arithmetic. That was what could be offered.
That was what they took. Now, things might have stayed that way if not for a woman named Hattie Jamerson. Out of the Mt.
Moriah community in the 1930s, she started pushing — urging local residents to build something bigger, a real high school for the rural African American students of the area. You've got to appreciate what that kind of vision takes. No institution behind her, no guarantee of a building or a budget.
Just conviction. And it caught. A man named John Henry Sims had been born and educated right there in Mt.
Moriah. He'd gone to Kansas, earned a teaching certificate, and came back home in 1932. Inspired by Jamerson's efforts, he sat down with Julian P.
Greer of the Elkhart Independent School District, and something started to move. The school board selected a six-acre site. And here's the part that'll stay with you — the community didn't wait for someone else to supply the materials.
They razed the old school buildings themselves. Took that lumber, carried it over, and used it to build the new one. Construction began in 1937.
The school was named for its first principal, George H. Henry, and in January of 1938, Henry High School opened its doors. One end of the building held grades seven through eleven.
The other housed the elementary students. And the curriculum had grown — yes, there was still reading and writing, but now there was science, history, homemaking, farming, and shop. A whole world of possibility in a building made from the bones of what came before.
In 1939, the first five students graduated from Henry High School. Five students. That class earned something.
George H. Henry served as principal until he retired in 1946, when H.J. Hurt took over.
The school stayed open through the years, until 1963, when it merged into Green Bay High School in Tucker. Elementary classes kept going a while longer, until integration with Elkhart schools in 1967. And then — quiet.
But not forgotten. Since 1980, former Henry High students have gathered every two years to celebrate their educational roots and the community's historic efforts in providing for its children. Biennially, like clockwork.
Because some things are worth marking. Some ground is worth coming back to.
What the marker says
Despite adverse conditions, African Americans in Texas in the late 19th century worked hard to provide their children with an education. Students in this area attended Mt. Moriah, Boxes Creek, Beulah, Washington Chapel, Union Hope and New Mt. Zion schools. The abbreviated school year allowed the children to help their parents during planting and harvest seasons, and most students focused only on the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. In the 1930s, Hattie Jamerson, of the Mt. Moriah community, urged local residents to build a high school to serve the rural area's African American students. John Henry Sims, born and educated in Mt. Moriah, returned here in 1932 after earning a teaching certificate in Kansas. Inspired by Jamerson's efforts, he met with Julian P. Greer of the Elkhart Independent School District, and the school board selected a six-acre site here for a school building. Community residents razed the old school buildings and brought the lumber to use in the new construction, which began in 1937. The school was named for its first principal, George H. Henry, and it opened in January 1938. Students in grades 7-11 met at one end, and the other side housed elementary grades. Students could take basic classes, as well as science, history, homemaking, farming and shop. After Henry retired in 1946, H.J. Hurt served as principal. In 1939, the first five students graduated from Henry High School, which remained open until 1963, when it merged into Green Bay High School in Tucker. Elementary classes remained until integration with Elkhart schools in 1967. Since 1980, former Henry High students have met biennially to celebrate their educational roots and the community's historic efforts in providing for its children. (2004)