W. H. Adamson High School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about W. H. Adamson High School in Dallas County.

Pull up a chair, because this story starts before most of Texas knew what a school district even was. In 1891, the newly incorporated town of Oak Cliff voted to seek bids on a school building. Brand new town, brand new ambitions.

The cornerstone for Oak Cliff Central School was laid at Patton and 10th Streets, Patton being called St. George back then, and that cornerstone went down in September of 1892 under the auspices of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas. That's not a small thing.

That's a community saying, we are here, and we intend to stay. Now, over in Dallas, the high school was getting crowded. Pressure built to do something about it.

So in 1915, a state-of-the-art facility rose at the corner of 9th and Beckley. The original building, the one with that 1892 cornerstone, became an elementary school and was later torn down in 1926. Education moving on, the way it does.

Then comes the man himself. Principal W. H.

Adamson, fondly referred to, and I do mean fondly, as the Grand Old Man of Oak Cliff. He served as superintendent of schools and principal for a total of 34 years. When he died in May of 1935, the school board voted to rename the school for him.

That's a legacy you can't manufacture. The building kept growin too. An auditorium, a gym, extra classrooms added over the years.

Two renovations came through New Deal programs, murals on the second floor in 1934, and additional wings in 1938. The present front facade of W. H.

Adamson High School still looks much the same as it did at opening, with one exception. Those windows, originally white-painted wood, have changed over time. Everything else, still standing, still facing the street the way it always has.

And what has walked through those doors? National leaders, state leaders, local leaders. Generation after generation, the school has served as a center of community activity and support.

It is one of the earliest schools in Dallas County, and the oldest continuously operating high school in the Dallas Independent School District. That's not a footnote. That's the whole point.

W. H. Adamson High School is still a hub of learning in its community, still representing what the people of that area decided they believed in, way back in 1891, when a brand new town voted to build something worth keeping.

What the marker says

IN 1891, THE NEWLY INCORPORATED TOWN OF OAK CLIFF VOTED TO SEEK BIDS ON A SCHOOL BUILDING. THE CORNERSTONE WAS LAID AT PATTON (THEN ST. GEORGE) AND 10TH STREETS FOR OAK CLIFF CENTRAL SCHOOL IN SEPTEMBER 1892 UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE MASONIC GRAND LODGE OF TEXAS. DUE TO OVERCROWDING AT DALLAS HIGH SCHOOL, THERE WAS PRESSURE TO BUILD A NEW HIGH SCHOOL. A STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITY WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1915 AT THE CORNER OF 9TH AND BECKLEY. THE ORIGINAL BUILDING BECAME AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND WAS LATER TORN DOWN IN 1926. WHEN PRINCIPAL W.H. ADAMSON, FONDLY REFERRED TO AS "THE GRAND OLD MAN OF OAK CLIFF," DIED IN MAY 1935, THE SCHOOL BOARD VOTED TO RENAME THE SCHOOL FOR HIM. HE SERVED AS SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS AND PRINCIPAL FOR A TOTAL OF 34 YEARS. OVER THE YEARS, THERE HAVE BEEN ADDITIONS AND EXPANSIONS TO THE BUILDING, INCLUDING AN AUDITORIUM, GYM, AND EXTRA CLASSROOMS. TWO RENOVATIONS, MURALS ON THE SECOND FLOOR IN 1934 AND ADDITIONAL WINGS IN 1938, WERE COMPLETED THROUGH NEW DEAL PROGRAMS. THE PRESENT FRONT FAÇADE OF THE W.H. ADAMSON HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING REMAINS THE SAME AS IT HAS SINCE ITS OPENING WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE WINDOWS, WHICH WERE ORIGINALLY WHITE-PAINTED WOOD. OVER THE YEARS, W.H. ADAMSON HIGH SCHOOL HAS GRADUATED MANY NATIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEADERS AND SERVED AS A CENTER OF COMMUNITY ACTIVITY AND SUPPORT. IT IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST SCHOOLS IN DALLAS COUNTY AND IS THE OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING HIGH SCHOOL IN THE DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT. THE INSTITUTION CONTINUES TO BE A HUB OF LEARNING IN ITS COMMUNITY AND REPRESENTS THE COMMITMENT OF THE AREA TO SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION. (2012)