Historical Marker

Blackwell School

Historical marker location:

501 South Abbot St., Marfa, Texas

( Marfa, 501 S. Abbot St.)

EDUCATION FOR LOCAL CHILDREN OF MEXICAN DESCENT DATES FROM 1889, WHEN THE FORMER METHODIST CHURCH BECAME A SCHOOLHOUSE. THE SCHOOL, NAMED FOR LONGTIME PRINCIPAL JESSE BLACKWELL, SERVED HUNDREDS OF HISPANIC CHILDREN UP TO NINTH GRADE. STUDENTS WERE TOLD TO SPEAK ONLY ENGLISH ON CAMPUS; SPANISH WORDS WRITTEN ON SLIPS OF PAPER WERE BURIED ON THE GROUNDS IN A MOCK FUNERAL CEREMONY. THE SCHOOL CLOSED IN 1965 WITH INTEGRATION OF MARFA SCHOOLS. THE BUILDING SAT VACANT UNTIL PRESERVATION EFFORTS BY THE BLACKWELL SCHOOL ALLIANCE, FORMED IN 2006. THE ONE-STORY SCHOOLHOUSE HAS A MODIFIED HIP ROOF, FRONT-GABLED ENTRY, AND PLASTERED 24-INCH THICK ADOBE WALLS ON A STONE FOUNDATION.