Wednesday, November 12, 2008
THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com • Sesquicentennial 2008
Section 3, Page 19
Education in Hardin County
Celebrating 150 Years
Silsbee ISD starts out in Santa Fe boxcar The forerunner of the Silsbee Independent School District began in 1903. Classes were held in a box car donated by the Santa Fe Railroad. In 1908-1909 the entire school system, grades one through 10, were housed in a two-story building. The Silsbee district consolidated with several other area school in 1910 to form the Silsbee Independent School District. Research of the old district records reveal that the following schools, and perhaps others, were consolidated: Union, Junction, Caney Head, Shady Grove, Drake, Woodrow, Pine Grove, Waldo Mathews and Caraway. In 1913 the school operated on a total budget of $5,482.86. Teachers were paid $50 per month. The board minutes from
the year state that the school was closed for 10 days in March because of an outbreak of smallpox. On Aug. 12, 1916, the school board issued the following regulations: 1. All teachers are required to eat their lunches at the school house; 2. All teachers shall have regular duties on the grounds during recess and intermissions; 3. All teachers shall be at the school house at 8 a.m. to perform such duties as the Superintendent may assign to them, and they shall stay after 4 p.m. till the business of the day is wound up; 4. The Superintendent shall conduct institutes for both white and colored teachers at least once each month at such times as will best suit the convenience of the teachers; 5. The board considers
it unprofessional for one teacher to criticize another either in presence of the pupils or the patrons. It is also injurious to the school; 6. It is for the best interest of teh school for the teachers to keep numbers of their deliberations to themselves; 7. All pupils are required to take such parts in the general exercises of the school as the teachers may assign them. This work is required for promotion from one grade to the next higher. The school has been led by eight different superintendents: A.D. Rawlinson, 1918-1932; Lester D. Self, 1932-1952; Don L. Hough, 1952-1974; Weeks Crawford, 1974-1985; Herbert C. Muckleroy, 1985-1994; Jim Lang, 1994-2001; Mike McGowan, 2001-2008; and present superintendent Richard Bain Jr.
This building was used for the Kountze Baptist College, a landmark educational center for blacks in Kountze in the early 1900s. A historical marker was erected in 2008 honoring the memory of the school and its legacy.
New historical marker erected in honor of Kountze Baptist College By GERRY L. DICKERT The Bee Perhaps it was appropriate that Fred Williams stood up and spoke first at the unveiling of a state historical marker in front of the Kountze City Hall. Williams, who is now the mayor of Kountze, was hired on at Kountze High School early on in his career. "They needed a black teacher," he said, the crowd laughing at the idea. "That's why they hired me." And so today, years later, Williams opened the remarks for the recognition of Kountze Baptist College as a landmark educational center for blacks in Kountze in the early 1900s. The new historical marker sits in front of the Kountze City Hall near the location of the original college, part of an initiative by the Hardin County Historical Commission. The Kountze Baptist College was founded in 1910 by the Trinity Valley Baptist Association. According to Kountze City Councilwoman Mary Adams, the school and organization had a three-fold purpose.
"First they were missionaries, then evangelism and then education," she told the crowd of about two dozen people gathered for an unveiling ceremony on Friday morning. Kountze Baptist College, also known as Jermany College, served African-American students in the area for nearly two decades. In 1910, the Trinity Valley Baptist Association opened the primary and secondary grade level school. Such institutions were often known as colleges at the time. Professor W.H. Jermany served as president of the school and also taught classes along with four other teachers, including his wife. Affiliated with Bishop College in Marshall, the school initially enrolled 15 students housed in a small wooden building. Classes included reading, writing, mathematics, home economics and sewing, dressmaking and millinery, music and theology. The school also operated a truck farm on parts of its 81-acre campus to support its agricultural education programs, and included a college preparatory academy and teacher training program. Kountze Baptist College thrived
in the 1910s and into the 1920s. The small wooden school building was replaced by a larger structure and in 1915 the school obtained additional land and erected a three-story building which contained dormitory rooms, classrooms and a chapel. By the late 1920s, Professor Jermany had resigned and was replaced by a Professor Schlyde. Because of financial difficulties compounded by the Great Depression, the school closed in 1930. Many of the young AfricanAmerican men and women who were educated here went on to graduate from college, serving as a source of pride for both blacks and whites in the area. Kountze Baptist College left a legacy as an institution of vital importance and significance in Hardin County. According to The Handbook of Texas Online, The Trinity Valley Baptist College Association was a black coeducational institution. The building, after its closure in 1930, was demolished, but its pine lumber and large doors were later installed in the parsonage of the Starlight Baptist Church in Beaumont.
Business
Sesquicentennial 2008
Hooks Title celebrates 103 years in county Hooks Title Company, the oldest continuously run business in Hardin County, will celebrate another anniversary as the company turns 103 years old. The title company was formed in 1902 and originally incorporated in 1905. It is recognized by the Texas Historical Commission as being the oldest continuously operated business firm in Hardin County and is also among the oldest abstract and title companies in Texas. Hooks Title Company is
also one of the oldest title agencies affiliated with Texas-based title insurance company Stewart Title Guaranty Co., of which they have been agents since 1953. Among the founders was J.B. Hooks, an oil and timber investor who was the major contributor to setting up the company, which was named after him although he was not actually involved in the day-to-day operation of the business. Other investors included Martin
Dies, an attorney and later U.S. congressman, and Amos Rich, who managed the company until J.A. McKim Sr. assumed management duties. The McKim family has been involved with the company since 1906 when J.A. (Mack) McKim Sr. joined the firm. When Martin Dies was elected to Congress, he went along as a congressional aide (called secretary in those days). After World War II, J.A.
1230 Hwy 96 South • Silsbee wphillips3@farmersagent.com
See HOOKS on Page 20, Section 3
The Moorman & Associates staff congratulate Hardin County on its 150th Birthday and take great pride in being a part of its communities.
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