Schoolhouses on the Luckenbach Loop

We saw a few more schoolhouses along what I called the Luckenbach Loop drive.   Yes, we did drivee thru Luckenbach, Texas, but more about that in another post!  For now, let’s look back on these pieces of yesterday…

Musebach Creek Country Schoolhouse

This school was first built in the early 1800’s, and the last school (fourth one) was built during the 1930’s.  One interesting historical note about this school – back in 1869, five brothers and sisters, whose parents were freed slaves, attended this school.  It might actually have been one of the first integrated schools in the South.

Grapetown Schoolhouse

In 1859, the first Grapetown School was actually in the former William Doebbler home.  In 1869, a log schoolhouse was built, and in 1884, the present school was built.

Welcoming Front Porch

In 1887, the teacherage was built – basically, a home where the school teacher lived, located next to the school (as you can see from the image below).

Grapetown Schoolhouse and Teacherage

The Grapetown School is one of only four school which still has the original teacherage.

Grapetown School Storage

This kitchen, storeroom and smokehouse was built after the teacherage, altho I’m not certain of the exact date. 

Reflection thru Grapetown Schoolhouse Window

I was able to peek into the old schoolhouse and capture this reflective image.  From what I could see (which wasn’t much!) there were some tables and chairs in the school room.  I loved the feel of this image – I could imagine a child in school looking out the window, just waiting for recess when he/she could go out to play.  This school was used until 1949 when it was consolidated with the Rocky Hill School District as part of the overall rural school consolidation in Texas.

Luckenbach Schoolhouse

Yes, Luckenbach had its own schoolhouse, and this is an image of the outside of it.  It was one of many that were locked, so we couldn’t explore the inside, tho.  Altho the first Luckenbach school was built in 1855 (log cabin construction), this limestone school was built in 1905.  Grades 1 – 8 were taught at the school, with the older students helping out the younger ones with grammar and math.  At 4pm, the boys had to bring in firewood for the stove and the girls swept the floor.  First graders were responsible for cleaning the erasers – did they get into eraser fights?  I wonder!

Peering into Luckenbach School

I was, however, able to get a peek inside the school, and I just love the feel of peeking into (and thru outside the window opposite) this old schoolhouse.  The table and chairs clearly don’t look to be desks, but they did look old enough to add to the charm of looking into this country school.

Lower South Grape Creek School

For those of you who follow my #FotoArtFriday pieces, this image may look somewhat familiar.  I used it as the inspiration of a piece from a couple of weeks ago (check out www.photoimagerybynadine.blogspot.com, and click on the post for “School Days”).  This present schoolhouse was built in 1900, altho the first school was built in 1871 (log cabin construction).  For certain holidays, like Washington ’s Birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas, plays and other programs were presented in the schoolhouse, with families and the community invited. 

Inside Lower Grape Creek School Looking Out

There is a story that one Christmas, as Santa was handing out oranges, apples and candy.  He also lit the candles on the Christmas tree, when his beard caught on fire.  According to the story, he made a quick exit thru the window and headed for the water well!  Could this be the window where he made his escape?

Enjoy!