The Schools of Tarkington Prairie

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the schools of Tarkington Prairie. Now settle in, because this story spans a full century, and it's got everything: community pride, political fights, a suspicious fire, and a school district that refused to disappear. Back in the 1820s, a man named Burton B.

Tarkington brought his family all the way from Indiana to what is now Liberty County. The vast prairie he settled came to be known for him, and over the years it drew a number of dispersed agricultural communities. Where communities grow, schools follow.

Records indicate there were fifteen separate schools at Tarkington Prairie in the century stretching from 1857 to 1957. Fifteen. Spread across that wide, flat land like seeds in good soil.

Now, the 1920s brought a different kind of wind through the prairie. State mandates started the talk of consolidation, and by 1931, the voters of the area made the change a reality. That sounds tidy, but it was anything but.

Controversy arose over where exactly to put the new facilities, and that argument split the community into factions and landed the whole matter in court. It seemed like things had finally settled down when a new high school went up. Seemed like it.

Because a few years later, that building burned, and the fire was of suspicious origin. Make of that what you will. District officials wasted no time.

They constructed a new building, completed in 1938, and they added teacher housing nearby to offer some measure of stability and security. Then came 1949 and the Gilmer-Aikin legislation, threatening the area's traditional independence in education all over again. Talk of consolidating with nearby Cleveland pushed voters to do something bold: they created an independent school district of their own.

There is an asterisk on that independence, though, and it deserves to be spoken plainly. Because Tarkington had no high school facilities for African American students, those students were bussed to Cleveland until integration was implemented. That is part of the record, and it belongs in the telling.

Today, Tarkington I.S.D. still stands as the central focus for the surrounding rural settlements. There is still no town within the large district. Just the land, the people, and the schools they fought over, rebuilt, and refused to give up.

After a century and a half of all that, the residents of Tarkington Prairie are still aiming to ensure the success of their most valued resource. Their children.

What the marker says

Burton B. Tarkington brought his family from Indiana to present Liberty County in the 1820s. The vast prairie he settled came to be known for him, and it accommodated a number of dispersed agricultural communities over the years. Many of the communities established their own schools, and records indicate there were 15 separate schools at Tarkington Prairie in the century from 1857 to 1957. Talk of consolidation first came in the 1920s as a result of state mandates, and by 1931, the voters of the area made the change a reality. Controversy arose over the central location of new facilities, resulting in sectional splits and court litigation. While the matter seemed resolved with the construction of a new high school, it may have resurfaced a few years later when a fire of suspicious origin destroyed the building. District officials quickly constructed a new building, completed in 1938, and nearby teacher housing provided measures of stability and security. Passage of Gilmer-Aikin legislation in 1949 threatened the area's traditional independence with regard to education, and talk of consolidation with nearby Cleveland spurred voters to create an independent school district. Because Tarkington had no high school facilities for African American students, however, those students were bussed to Cleveland until the implementation of integration. Today, Tarkington I.S.D. remains as a central focus for the surrounding rural settlements; there is still no town within the large district. With continued expansion of facilities, collections and programs, the residents of Tarkington Prairie aim to ensure the success of their most valued resource, their children. (2003)