Camp Colorado School
by B. Brooke and Carl Bludworth

from A History of Coleman County and Its People, 1985 
edited by Judia and Ralph Terry, and Vena Bob Gates - used by permission 
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The first schools in the county were at the military post.  The first one was held in a tailor shop in 1861, taught by a Mr. Keen.  The second was taught by Jesse Johnson before 1870 and the third by J. J. Callan at his home a mile from the fort.  There was a little school house-built at the back of the field on the R. C. Morgan place in the late 1860’s, which Luke Williamson taught.

By 1872, the school had an attendance of 21 pupils ranging in age from seven to twenty-three.  The school was not graded and was in session for four months of the year.  Slate and pencil were the only equipment.  The building in which it was held, washed away in the flood of July 3, 1932.  Few records have been found of this school, but it was always called district #10.  Some of the teachers were Maggie E. Brown, Mrs. Eula Haskell, C. C. Head, Miss M. Johnson Burkett, Mrs. Ward, Ruth Stephenson, Mrs. Geo. Garrett, Mrs. Geo. McNamara, Mrs. Ed Hamon, Miss Bell Hampton, Miss Alice Robinson, Mrs. Luke Edens, J ohnnie Harris, Cecil Head, and C. L. South. Trustees were L. D. Greaves, E. W. Gillespie, J. I. Morgan, Bert Sackett, Ceo. Sackett, Woods Epperson, Pete Woods, Bob Greaves, Gee Green, and Leonard Stevens.

Camp Colorado and its school were located in a horseshoe bend of Jim Ned Creek with three crossings; one to the south, called Greaves Crossing; one to the west called the Stage Crossing; and one on the north known as the Johnson Crossing.  These three crossing have been in
use since 1857, and were a good excuse for many pupils for not being in school for one to two days because the creek was up.  Foot logs were built for pupils to walk across on.  The schoolhouse was the heart of the community and served many purposes — church, Sunday School, revival meetings in the summer, singing schools, elections, and box or ice cream suppers.

With only fifteen pupils and only one teacher (Miss Ellen Folk), Camp Colorado held its last school in 1934 - consolidated in 1935 with three other school districts, Union Hill, Lone Star, and Watts Creek to form Cross Roads School.
 


 
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This page updated July 14, 2004
 
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