A One Room School House...
Schools like Rockwall’s Fannin Street School were one-room country schools that served all grades. In the early days, small schoolhouses were numerous. At least sixty different country schools operated in Rockwall County such as: Happy Home, McCreary, Friendship, Nadine, Munson, McLendon, Locust Grove, Powell, Union, Brushy, Collins, Newton, Prairie View, Elm Grove, Blackland and Griffith League.

In these early schools, classes were usually only taught through the seventh grade; and in many cases, all these grades were taught by the same teacher. Students who wanted to continue their education would travel to Rockwall and Royse City to attend schools that offered higher grade levels.

Back then, the picking of the fall cotton crop determined when the school term started. If the crop was late in maturing, the fall school session would be late in beginning because the entire family would assist with cotton production. (photo, Rockwall Public School, built in 1885)

Several early schools were located in the city of Rockwall including the Eddleman Kindergarten and the Butler Institute, both of which were in operation by 1855. Another early city school in Rockwall was located on the corner of San Jacinto and Washington Streets and occupied the lower floor of the Masonic Lodge building. The school opened in 1859 and continued to operate until the late 1870’s. In 1878 the city constructed a free public school and in 1885 the city’s second free public school was built.

In 1908 residents approved and issued bonds in the amount of $25,000 to construct a new three-story brick building for the Rockwall Public schools, which now offered grades one through eleven. The building was located on Fannin Street. It was equipped with electricity and plumbing and had heavily oiled floors and coal stoves. Elementary classes were on the first floor and the high school classes were on the second floor. The school auditorium was on the third floor.

In 1925 a two-story high school was built on Clark Street for a cost of approximately $50,000. First occupied in the fall of 1925, the high school graduated its first class in 1926. The new building had approximately ten classrooms, an auditorium, and offices for both high school administration and school district personnel. Classes for eighth through eleventh grade students were moved into this new building. The Fannin Street building continued to serve the first through the seventh grades.

In the 1940’s, a twelfth grade was eventually added to the high school curriculum. As roads and transportation improved, the remaining country schools were consolidated into one school district—the Rockwall Independent School District. The original Rockwall High School building was abandoned in 1965 when a new high school was completed. The old high school building was demolished in the mid-seventies.