DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this place, and it's a story worth slowing down for. Way back in Woodville, in Tyler County, Texas, the African American community was doing what communities do when the system isn't doing it for them. They were educating their children.
In local churches. In Masonic halls. Well into the twentieth century, that's where the learning happened.
No dedicated schoolhouse, just determination and whatever space they could find. Then came Henry T. Scott.
A native of Tyler County, Scott trained at Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College, taught in Beaumont, and arrived in Woodville as a teacher in 1910. And once he got there, he got to work. Not just teaching.
Fundraising. Pushing. Persevering.
The marker calls him dynamic, and you get the sense that word earns its keep here. Because of his vision, a six-room school bearing his name opened on Elm Street, the road now called Martin Luther King Drive, in 1934. Only two years before his death.
Think about that for a moment. The man spent years raising the funds, held the vision together long enough to see it open, and then was gone. The school carried on without him.
Scott School found its next great chapter under John K. Canada, who became principal in 1947. Canada set high standards, built out the curriculum, and under his leadership the student body grew from fewer than a hundred students to more than five hundred.
That kind of growth changes everything. So Canada partnered with Superintendent B.H. McGuire and district officials to plan a larger campus.
The land at this very site was purchased in 1959, and the new Scott School opened with the start of the academic school year in 1961. For years it stood as an important institution in Woodville, its graduates going on to distinguished careers and prominent roles in their communities. Then came integration in the late 1960s, and the school closed.
The main building burned in 1980. But here's the thing about a school that matters: it doesn't disappear just because the building does. An active alumni association is still out there, keeping the memories alive, honoring the institution and its namesake.
Henry T. Scott and Scott School, both revered, the marker says, in the history of Tyler County. Some legacies you just can't burn down.
What the marker says
Early African American citizens of Woodville educated their children in local churches and Masonic halls well into the twentieth century. Efforts to develop a better public school system for the students began with the dynamic leadership of educator Henry T. Scott. A native of Tyler County, Scott trained at Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College and taught in Beaumont before moving to Woodville as a teacher in 1910. Here, he worked to raise funds for a new school. Thanks to his vision and perseverance, a six-room school named for him opened on Elm Street (now Martin Luther King Drive) in 1934, only two years before his death. Scott School experienced its greatest early growth under John K. Canada, who became principal in 1947. He set high standards for the students and the development of school curriculum, and under his leadership the student body increased from fewer than 100 students to more than 500. As a result of the growth and the introduction of new programs, Canada worked with Superintendent B.H. McGuire and district officials to plan for a larger campus at this site, purchased in 1959. The new Scott School opened with the beginning of the academic school year in 1961. Henry T. Scott School developed as an important institution in Woodville, and its graduates included many accomplished in their chosen professions and prominent in community activities. The school closed in the late 1960s as a result of integration, and the main building burned in 1980. Today, an active alumni association helps preserve the memories of Scott School and its namesake, Henry T. Scott, both revered in the history of Tyler County. (2006)