Sutherland Springs School Site

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Sutherland Springs School Site, out in Wilson County. Pull up a chair, because this story covers the better part of a century, and it earns every mile of it. Dr.

John Sutherland and Joseph H. Polley founded the Sutherland Springs Community back in the eighteen fifties. Now, these were men who looked around at what they had built and noticed what was missing.

Social institutions hadn't yet developed out here, and both men were concerned about that, particularly the need for a school. Early schools in Texas were built by churches, citizens, or organizations, because public education funds were not adequately distributed, and educational efforts across the state remained sporadic clear through the close of the nineteenth century. So if you wanted learning, you went out and built it yourself.

In eighteen fifty-seven, Dr. Sutherland did exactly that. He built a rock building on the Cibolo and used it as a private academy.

That rock was going to carry some weight in this story, so keep it in mind. Years passed, the community grew, and in eighteen seventy-one, J.B. Polley deeded to the school trustees of Cibolo Hall and female academy all his right, title, and interest in lot number three, block number fifty-nine.

The deed was done. By eighteen seventy-seven, the male and female academy had opened in the rock schoolhouse. A building that started as one man's private effort had become something the whole community could walk through the door of.

Things moved along. In nineteen ten, a bond election was voted on and adopted to construct a new school, and the very next year, lot number four was purchased. Then, in nineteen thirty-four, the citizens of district nine voted to incorporate for free school purposes under the name Sutherland Springs Independent School District.

A new school was built in nineteen thirty-six, and a gymnasium was added in nineteen thirty-eight. They had come a long way from a single rock building on a creek. And then came December nineteenth, nineteen forty-seven.

The eve of Christmas holidays. Fire completely destroyed the school building. Just like that, what the community had spent generations building was gone.

After the fire, students finished the school year at the Baptist Church. A two-room building was erected for grades one through six. The district consolidated with Floresville in nineteen forty-eight, and the property was sold in nineteen fifty-three.

The buildings are gone now. The district is gone. But the marker makes sure you know this: the spirit of small, rural schools lives on through the community and memory.

And out here on a Texas road, that seems about right.

What the marker says

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS SCHOOL SITE The Sutherland Springs Community was founded by Dr. John Sutherland and Joseph H. Polley in the 1850s. Both men were concerned with the need for a school in Sutherland Springs where social institutions had not yet developed. Early schools were built by churches, citizens or organizations. Public education funds were not adequately distributed and educational efforts in Texas remained sporadic through the close of the nineteenth century. In 1857, Dr. Sutherland built a rock building on the Cibolo used as a private academy. In 1871, J.B. Polley deeded to the school trustees of Cibolo Hall and female academy all his right, title and interest in lot #3 block #59. By 1877, the male and female academy opened in the rock schoolhouse. In 1910, a bond election was voted on and adopted to construct a new school. The next year, lot #4 was purchased. In 1934, citizens of district nine voted to incorporate for free school purposes under the name Sutherland Springs Independent School District. A new school was built in 1936 and a gymnasium was added in 1938. On the eve of Christmas holidays, December 19, 1947, fire completely destroyed the school building. After the fire, students finished the school year at the Baptist Church. A two-room building was erected for grades one through six. The district consolidated with Floresville in 1948 and the property was sold in 1953. However, the spirit of small, rural schools lives on through the community and memory. (2014)