Camp San Saba School - Trail Yearbook (Camp San Saba, TX)

Page 46 text:

Hisfoiq Out gclzool The Camp San Saba School, like the town of Camp San Saba, is one of the historic institutions of this section. This school had been in existence sixteen years before the county of McCulloch was organized in 1876. It was the first school established in this section and has been in continuous oper- ation ever since the fall of 1860, when the first school term opened. Camp San Saba School is celebrating its golden Jubilee this year. The 75th year of education in this community will be completed when the present class graduates this Spring. No records have been preserved. The names of the first teachers and pupils unfortunately are not available. But the school stands as a monument to the high ideas of these first settlers who, amidst the most severe hardships and dangers, provided an education for their children. The first schoolhouse was erected in the summer or fall of 1860. Seven or eight children attend- ed during the first term fabout three monthsj while their daddies stood guard on the outside against the constant danger of an Indian attack. At least one man armed with a gun, each morning accom- panied the children on their way to school, remained on sentinel duty during the day, and guarded them again on their way home. The first school was a log building, chinked in with mud, and erected over a puncheon floor. The benches and tables were hewn out of logs. One door and a window on the South side were the only openings. Cedar shingles, the only material not fashioned of native wood, were imported by Wagon from San Antonio. A Miss Moss and a Miss Allen are listed among the earliest teachers who used this primitive hut as a classroom. ' ' The Hlittle log schoolhousev was replaced in 1875, after fifteen years of service, by a more sub- stantial rock structure, about 10x14 feet, and containing a front and back door and one window high up in the wall to -keep the Indians from crawling in or, perhaps, to keep the pupils from crawling out. This building stood on the site of the present Baptist Church. Its equipment was practically as primitive as that of the first school. J. Warren Hunter, celebrated pioneer of the Hill country, taught here in 1882 and 1883 and is remembered as a very efficient schoolmaster. The third school, a plank building, was erected in 1887, most likely to provide more room for the ever increasing number of pupils. Many of the present citizens of this community received their education in this building. The enrollment for a number of years totaled a hundred pupils. There was no more danger from the Indians and the virgin lands of this section constantly attracted new settlers. The present school, a modern cement and stucco edifice, was built in 1924. It is equipped with up-to-date furniture and educational facilities. Three teachers, Principal A. H. Floyd, Mrs. Floyd and Miss Jewel Lawson conduct a ten-grade school, which ranks among the best in McCulloch county. About fifty children attend the school. Shortly before the war between the North and South. General Robert E. Lee, then a captain in the United States Army, inspected the military camps here. He was accompanied by Albert Sidney John- son and General McCulloch, both well remembered heroes of the Southern Army. Very few settlers lived in the Camp San Saba community prior to the Civil War. In the early part of the Civil War companies of state troops, known variously as rangers, Mounted Volunteers, etc., were organized all over the state. One or more of these companies had a camp on the San'Saba River, about a mile southeast of the Hardee Crossing, established in 1856. They were quartered in log cabins and a few tents. These state troopers were placed here to guard this section against' the Indians. This military protection induced new settlers to come in, and the population of Camp San Saba soon grew into substantial numbers. It was from this camp of 6'Rangers on the San Saba River that Camp San Saba derived its name. -CARL A. BLASIG.

Page 45 text:

Isrefwo F THE FIRST SCHOOL BUILDING AT CAMP SAN SABA Billy Freeman runs the upostofficen and nothing more Whar once thar stood thuh saloon with bar and sawdust floor. jest look at thuh Trail stretching out We paved her down one year. We celebrates with round-ups now thar ain't no more Frontier

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