Historical Marker

Kelsey Academy

IN THE LATE 1890s, BROTHERS JOHN AND JAMES EDGAR SETTLED ALONG KELSEY CREEK, AND WERE SOON JOINED BY OTHER LATTER-DAY SAINTS FAMILIES FROM THEIR NATIVE ALABAMA. BY 1901, CHURCH OFFICIALS ESTABLISHED THE AREA’S FIRST BRANCH AND SCHOOL, WITH MANASSEH J. BLACKBURN AS TEACHER. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FORMED KELSEY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 45 IN 1907. THE SCHOOL BUILT A TWO-STORY BRICK BUILDING IN 1911. IN THE 1920s, SMALLER NEARBY SCHOOLS CLOSED AND MORE STUDENTS CAME TO KELSEY. HOWEVER, FAILED CROPS AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION CAUSED THE AREA’S POPULATION TO DROP, AND THE SCHOOL CLOSED IN 1943. KELSEY SCHOOL IS REMEMBERED AS A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND UPSHUR COUNTY.