Westlake High School - Ram Ler Yearbook (Westlake, LA)

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1891-1966: DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY I n August of 1891 one acre of land was donated to the Calcasieu Parish School Board for the purpose of erecting a building to serve as the public school in Westlake, Louisiana. It is believed that the land was donated by Mr. Allen Perkins, but we were unable to confirm this report. The one-room school pictured at the bottom of this page was completed in time to begin classes in September of 1891, and this marks the beginning of the seventy five years of public education in Westlake that this edition of the Ram-Ler is commemorating. We would be lax, indeed, if we did not point out that prior to 1891 education was not completely lacking in this area. About 1875 Mr. William B. Pilley migrated to Sugartown from Alabama and, after a short stay, came on to Westlake. He was a preacher and a teacher and did both while he resided in the area. The very first school which Mr. Pilley helped to found was located halfway between John Stine Road and Bagdad. It was called the Sand Gully School and was about a quarter of a mile southwest of what is now the Hightower store building. It was a private school, with the students having to pay a tuition as well as buying all of their texts and supplies. Primarily the three R's with some literature thrown in were taught. The second private school was also a one-room structure and was located in the near vicinity of the present Liggio home. This building served as both a school and a church with all denominations taking turns in using it for their services. A third private school was located at Myrtle Springs and a fourth was located in the Perkins community and was called the Perkins’ Chapel School, because it, too, was used as both a church and a school. THE FIRST PUBLIC SCHOOL IN WESTLAKE AS IT APPEARED ON OPENING DAY IN SEPTEMBER 1891

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THE RAM-LER 75th ANNIVERSARY EDITION WESTLAKE HIGH WESTLAKE, LOUISIANA VOL. XXI

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OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN WESTLAKE, LOUISIANA And finally, the last of the private schools was built in sucli a location that if it were standing today the Calcasieu River bridge would serve as a second roof. Researched and written by Maurice A. Burns PERKINS' CHAPEL SCHOOL - A DUPLICATE OF THE OTHER PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN THE AREA E.S. JENKINS An early teacher in the Perkins' School AT RIGHT IS MR. WILLIAM B. PILLEY, (seated) THE FIRST TEACHER IN THE AREA, AND HIS BROTHER GEORGE WHO WAS NOT A TEACHER. THE STUDENT BODY OF THE SCHOOL YEAR 1901-1902