Lamar School

The first school was a cellar-like dugout built in 1887 for Plainview's twenty-seven school-age children, with no seats; each pupil brought a chair until lumber could be hauled 160 miles from Colorado City, and books were passed around. When public schools began in 1889, Plainview's district had thirty-eight of the county's 108 pupils. The Masonic building, put up by First Christian pastor Thomas G. Nance, opened as District One School on April 13, 1891. In 1990 the rebuilt 1902 building still stood, bricked over, with the Masons meeting upstairs.

What the plaque says

Lamar School The first Plainview schoolhouse was built in 1887, the year the town was founded. Located northwest of this site, it was a half-dugout sod building similar to many of the pioneer homes of the area. Built by local men under the supervision of Judge J. M. Carter and Col. R. P. Smyth, the structure also served as a community center and was used for the organization of at least two local churches. In 1889 the Plainview Masonic Lodge constructed a two-story frame building west of this site. The second floor was used for lodge meetings and the ground floor was occupied by the school, which became known as The Llano Estacado Institute for Male and Female in 1893. The building served as the schoolhouse until it burned in 1902. Shortly after the organization of the Plainview Independent School District in 1902, the elementary school was renamed in honor of the noted Texas leader Mirabeau B. Lamar. A two-story schoolhouse at this site was moved in 1910 when the original section of the present building was constructed. Later used as a vocational training center, Lamar School reflects the pioneer educational, social, and religious growth of the community. 1981

Where it stands

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