DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight with a little East Texas flavor. The Stamps School — or the site of it, anyway — sits in Upshur County, and its story begins on October 24th, 1906, when it was established and named for a settler by the name of William O. Stamps.
Folks around there called him Uncle Billy, and it's not hard to see why a man earns a name like that — he didn't just lend his name to the place, he gave land and materials to get the building up off the ground. That's the kind of neighbor a community remembers. And Uncle Billy had plenty of stake in the school himself, seeing as six of his sons were among the community children who attended.
So when the schoolhouse doors opened, the Stamps family filled a good portion of the seats. Now, the building wasn't only doing one job. It pulled triple duty as a church and a lodge hall too — a real cornerstone of that little community.
But here's where the story takes a turn toward something nobody could've mapped out on a chalkboard. At the behest of W. O.
Stamps himself, a music teacher named Roe M. Morgan was hired to operate a singing school right there in that same building. Uncle Billy wanted music, and he got it.
What he may not have bargained for was just how far that music would travel. Through Morgan's inspiration, two of Stamps' sons — Virgil, born in 1892 and gone in 1940, and Frank, born in 1896 and gone in 1965 — became gospel singers. And not just singers.
Those two brothers went on to found a large music publishing company and school. All of that, traced back to one singing teacher in one schoolhouse in Upshur County. The school itself ran its course, consolidating with New Diana on March 3rd, 1934.
The building's gone now. But the music Uncle Billy set loose in that room — well, that's a different matter entirely.
What the marker says
Established Oct. 24, 1906, and named for settler William O. ("Uncle Billy") Stamps, who gave land and materials for building. Community children, including Stamps' six sons, attended the school. Building also served as church and lodge hall. At behest of W. O. Stamps, music teacher Roe M. Morgan was hired to operate a singing school here. Through his inspiration, two of Stamps' sons, Virgil (1892-1940) and Frank (1896-1965), became gospel singers and founded large music publishing company and school. Present school consolidated with New Diana on March 3, 1934. (1971)