Site of Komensky School

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to do it justice. Somewhere out on the Woods Prairie of Lavaca County, a community decided their children deserved a school. Czech and German settlers, people who had put roots deep into that Texas soil, they pooled their money, created a fund, and hired a carpenter.

And by the fall of 1895, right there on land owned by Emanuel Breitschoff, a one-room schoolhouse was standing. They named it for Jan Amos Komensky, a seventeenth century Czech educator and religious leader out of Moravia. That name said something.

It said these folks knew where they came from, and they intended to carry that forward. Now, one room sounds modest, but don't let that fool you. By 1900, student enrollment had reached 107.

One room and a hundred and seven students. The place was bursting, and in 1901 the school was enlarged. A teacherage went up in 1903.

By 1910 the community had established a special tax for the Komensky School District, which tells you all you need to know about how serious they were. Then 1913 brought something that stopped the community in its tracks, in the best possible way. Two sixth grade graduates were recognized in the school's first public graduation ceremony.

First one ever. You can imagine the pride in that room. And it must have been something, because just one year later, in 1914, the community dedicated the opening of an impressive new school on that same ground.

They didn't just maintain what they had. They built toward something bigger. A Parents-Teachers Association was organized in 1928.

Higher grades were added over the years, and by 1940 Komensky School was offering twelve full grades of instruction and competitive athletic programs. From one room to twelve grades. That is a community believing in itself, year after year.

But this story has weight to it too. Eight former Komensky students lost their lives while on active duty in World War One and World War Two. Eight young people who had sat in those classrooms, learned their lessons, walked out into the world, and did not come back.

That deserves to be said plainly, and remembered. The school kept going. By 1955, even after dropping grades ten through twelve, a new school building was erected.

But the years were doing what years do. By 1958, Komensky offered only eight grades. And then in 1966, after seventy-one years of providing educational opportunities for that rural community, Komensky School closed.

Seventy-one years. Started with a carpenter, a fund, and a piece of land belonging to Emanuel Breitschoff. Ended with generations of children educated, and eight names that should never be forgotten.

That's what a community school can be.

What the marker says

Citizens of the Czech/German Woods Prairie settlement created a fund and hired a carpenter in 1895 to build a community school. By fall 1895 a one-room schoolhouse, named for 17th century Czech (Moravian) educator and religious leader Jan Amos Komensky, was built here on land owned by Emanuel Breitschoff. Student enrollment reached 107 in 1900 and in 1901 the school was enlarged. A teacherage was erected in 1903 and in 1910 a special tax was established for the Komensky School District. Two sixth grade graduates were recognized in 1913 in the school's first public graduation ceremony. The community proudly dedicated the opening of an impressive new school here in 1914. A Parents-Teachers Association was organized in 1928. Higher grades were added over the years and by 1940 Komensky School offered 12 grades of instruction and competitive athletic programs. Eight former Komensky school students lost their lives while on active duty in World War I and II. Although the school had dropped grades 10-12 by 1955 a new school building was erected. By 1958 Komensky School offered only eight grades and in 1966, after 71 years of providing educational opportunities for the area's rural community, Komensky School closed. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995