Old Del Rio High School

In 1930, the year this building opened, the district faced the first Texas court case over the schooling of children of Mexican descent. On January 7 the school board called an election on new facilities, including five rooms for the two-room elementary school designated the Mexican or West End school. Jesus Salvatierra and other parents sued, and on May 15 District Judge Joseph Jones granted an injunction. The Court of Civil Appeals in San Antonio voided it on October 29, and in 1931 the U.S. Supreme Court declined the case. Segregation through the third grade stood.

What the plaque says

Old Del Rio High School Founded in 1868 on the edge of the Chuhuahuan Desert and just three miles from the Rio Grande, Del Rio began as an agricultural community. Early residents had access to intermittent schooling opportunities for their children. In the 1870s, the community used an adobe structure as a schoolhouse whenever a teacher was available. During the 1880s, children attended classes in a two-room, wood-frame building at Pecan and Greenwood streets. That decade brought significant changes to the community, as the Del Rio Common School District organized in 1884 and Val Verde County began the following year with Del Rio as the seat of government. In 1890, residents voted to create an independent school district, which included much of present-day Del Rio except for the San Felipe neighborhood, which created its own school district. Following creation of the Del Rio district, trustees approved a new school building at this site. Called Del Rio High School, or Secondary School, it housed classes through the tenth grade. By 1906, the district had divided into three campuses: the high school, Hill School (Northside Elementary) and an African American school. Ongoing construction projects expanded to meet the growing number of students. The district addded an eleventh grade in 1910 and a twelfth grade level following construction of this school building in 1930. Built by Phil Garoni, the new structure served until 1968, when the district built a larger high school on the north side. The district continues to use the 1930 structure for school programs. Today, the campus of the Old Del Rio High School serves as an important reminder of early educational efforts in the city. (2005)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Whitehead Memorial Museum — 0.6 mi
  A village of old Del Rio buildings set along a working irrigation canal, from an 1870 store to a 1925 doctor's office, with Judge Roy Bean buried on the grounds.
• San Felipe Creek — 0.8 mi
  The spring-fed creek that made Del Rio, rising from the third largest springs in Texas and running past swimming holes and a hike-and-bike trail through town.
• Val Verde Winery — 1.0 mi
  The family winery an Italian immigrant founded on Del Rio's irrigated land in 1883, which outlasted Prohibition by selling table grapes and kept Texas wine alive into the 1970s.
• Amistad National Recreation Area — 9.0 mi
  The American side of the reservoir the United States and Mexico finished in 1969 where three rivers meet, with painted shelters still reachable by boat when the water allows.

More markers nearby

• City of Del Rio — steps away
• Max and Anna Stool — 0.2 mi
• Canal System of Del Rio — 0.2 mi
• First United Methodist Church of Del Rio — 0.2 mi