Historical Marker

Old Red Schoolhouse

Trinity’s first schoolhouse was a one-room log structure built in 1872 near Cedar Grove Cemetery. A two-story frame schoolhouse that stood on this site from 1897 to 1911 was moved several blocks northwest to serve African American students. Under Supt. J. Woolam Bright, construction of a new brick building began here in 1911, and after many delays it opened by 1915. The prairie style, T-plan building housed all grade levels until completion of an adjacent high school in 1928. “Old Red” served as a schoolhouse for 80 years. When it was slated for demolition in the 1990s, concerned citizens and former students worked with the school district to preserve the historic building for continued use.