Tiemann School

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some stories start with a grand gesture, a deed to a thousand acres, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a brass band playing in the summer heat. This one starts with five dollars.

Theodore Tiemann sold one acre of land to the county school district for exactly five dollars, and from that modest transaction, something real took root. They named the school after him, which seems only right. Tiemann School, out here in Guadalupe County, built to provide educational, cultural, and recreational opportunities for the citizens of this area.

Five dollars, one acre, and a community's worth of ambition. Starting in 1903 as a one-room, one-teacher facility, the place was about as humble as a schoolhouse gets. One room.

One teacher. And whatever number of young minds showed up that first morning ready, or not quite ready, to learn. But communities have a way of growing into their institutions, and Tiemann School grew right along with the folks it served.

Over time, the school was enlarged to accommodate two teachers and many students. It also became a gathering place for community events, the kind of building that holds more than lessons. It holds a neighborhood's memory.

Then 1943 came, and Tiemann School closed. And in 1949, along with other area schools in the region, it was annexed by the Seguin School System. The one-room schoolhouse that started with a five-dollar land sale had done its work, served its people, and passed its students on down the road.

Not a bad return on five dollars.

What the marker says

Named for Theodore Tiemann, who sold one acre of land to the county school district for $5.00, Tiemann School provided educational, cultural, and recreational opportunities for citizens in this area. Beginning in 1903 as a one-room, one-teacher facility, the school eventually was enlarged to accommodate two teachers and many students. A gathering place for many community events, Tiemann School closed in 1943. Along with other area schools, it was annexed by the Seguin School System in 1949. (1990)