Friday's Photo: The Criswell School

The Criswell School, Falls County, Texas
I took this photo when visiting the Criswell Cemetery. To learn more, visit the Criswell Cemetery page. 

I've mentioned very little about my Criswell ancestors on this blog. My father, Whit Criswell Bryan, was named for his mother's favorite uncle, Thomas Leroy "Whit" Criswell. Dad's mother was Myrtie Hairston, daughter of Lodema Walker Criswell and Phillip Hairston who met and married in Falls County, Texas.

Lodema was the 6th born of the 13 children of William Moore Criswell and Mary Ann "Polly" Evans who settled in Falls County prior to the Civil War.

I visited the Criswell Cemetery in 2005 where I saw the schoolhouse and burial site of many of my Criswell family members.

While researching the Criswell School, I learned that the original school was built in the Criswell community, a farming community consisting of several hundred residents in the late 1800s and early 1900s. According to an article found at Newspapers.com, the original was rebuilt sometime in the 1920s and that newer building burned on January 28, 1927. The building pictured was said to have been erected soon after the fire.

I don't know the date the original Criswell School was built, but did find mention of Criswell's school house in the adjacent 1874 clipping found at Newspapers.com. 

A little about the clipping - The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a fraternal organization in the United States that encourages the promotion of community and agriculture. Many of these persons listed were children or spouses of the children of William and Mary Ann Criswell. 

Diana

© 2016

Sources

"Criswell Community School Pictures." Criswell Community School Pictures. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2016. <http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txfalls/School_Photo/School_Pictures_Webpages/CriswellCommunitySchoolPics.htm>.

"Patrons of Husbandry legal definition of Patrons of Husbandry." Patrons of Husbandry legal definition of Patrons of Husbandry. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2016. <http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Patrons+of+Husbandry>.