The Schools of Tarkington Prairie

The 1931 merger joined five small schools: Dolen, Hightower, East Tarkington, North Tarkington and West Tarkington, partly to meet state minimum enrollment rules, according to the district's own history. The high school that opened in 1933 had ten classrooms, a library, a science lab and a 500-seat auditorium. It burned about four years later, with arson suspected, and the district says no charges were filed. Bill Neal had started running the Dolen school bus in 1934; before then children walked or rode horses. Grades six through twelve moved into a new building in 1938.

What the plaque says

The Schools of Tarkington Prairie 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)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center — 18 mi
  A state archives and museum north of Liberty with an exhibit on Southeast Texas history and a campus of historic buildings, including an 1848 house and an 1898 church.

More markers nearby

• Burton B. Tarkington — 1.5 mi
• City of Cleveland — 7.7 mi
• Town of Shepherd — 13 mi
• Hugh B. Johnston — 14 mi