Dunbar School

Private instruction for black children in San Marcos may have begun as early as 1847, but the first public school was founded in 1877 with 50 pupils. The school was moved to this 7.3 acre site in 1918. Many graduates continued into higher education, and some returned as teachers, including Ola Lee Coleman, whose 36-year career was the longest here. In 1961 the school was renamed for Paul Lawrence Dunbar (1872-1906), noted black author. This facility closed with the completion of school integration in the 1960s. In 1973 Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Marshall purchased the site for use as a city park.