Site of St. Paul School

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out here in Falls County, a community of German farmers and ranchers put down roots, and when folks like that settle in, the first thing they start thinking about, after the harvest, is the schoolhouse. St.

Paul School dates to 1896, when they built that first schoolhouse right near St. Paul Church. That's how it began, quiet and practical, the way most lasting things begin.

Now, the story didn't stop there. School trustees purchased land in 1906, and then again in 1910, and with that ground secured, they put up a three-room schoolhouse just west of where you're standing right now. Three rooms.

You think about how much living happened inside those walls. Students came up through the ninth grade, and then, when they'd learned what St. Paul could teach them, they made the trip to Marlin to finish out their high school education.

That was the arrangement, and it worked. For fifty-two years, this school delivered educational and athletic programs to the children of this community. Fifty-two years of lessons, of seasons, of kids growing into something their parents could be proud of.

Then, in 1948, St. Paul School consolidated with the Marlin school district, and that chapter closed. But here's the thing about a community that builds something with its own hands.

It doesn't disappear entirely. Part of the water well that once served this school still remains on the property. Still there.

A quiet, stubborn reminder that something real happened here.

What the marker says

Founded by the German farmers and ranchers who settled this part of Falls County, St. Paul School dates to 1896 when a schoolhouse was built near the St. Paul Church. After school trustees purchased land in 1906 and again in 1910, a three-room schoolhouse was built just west of this site. The school served students through the ninth grade, after which they went to Marlin to complete their high school education. After providing educational and athletic programs to local students for 52 years, St. Paul School consolidated with the Marlin school district in 1948. Part of the water well that once served the school remains on the property as a physical reminder. (2001)