Big Four School

Historical marker location:

FM 651, Crosbyton, Texas

( 5 miles north of Crosbyton on FM 651)

The community of big four lies a few miles north of Crosbyton. The W.H. Hames and M.A. Reynolds families moved here in 1902 and 1909, respectively, and four houses were built on land owned by the Morrison brothers around one windmill which supplied water for all four houses. With the coming of settlers, the parker and fowler families soon called for a school house. In 1909 Hames and S.K. Freeman built a one-room school house. In 1916 a new two-room school house was built for the growing big four community. In 1936 an auditorium was built on the school grounds to be used as a community center.

Big Four School was one of five rural schools that remained in Crosby County in 1953. Critical problems confronted the rural school, including lack of financial resources, poor facilities, difficulty in maintaining students, and inability to secure qualified teachers. Rural schools existed for a specific purpose, and when the big four school could no longer compete with larger schools, it closed. The two-room school building was moved in the mid-1950s to be used as a school for the Crosbyton Independent School District’s African American students. The school building later burned to the ground. The school district gave the Big Four School auditorium building to local residents with deed stipulation for use as the big four community center. The wooden building was last utilized around 1980, when it was used for Big Four club meetings. The building was turned back to the school district in 1981. With the poor condition of the auditorium building and lack of funds to restore it, the property and building was sold in 2011, resulting in the demolition of the auditorium and the erection of a new home