FIRST COKE SCHOOL AND OTHER EARLY SCHOOLS OF 1880s - Coke County, TX Contributed by Jo Collier 7 September 2003 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/tx/txfiles.htm ********************************************************************* FIRST COKE SCHOOL AND OTHER EARLY SCHOOLS OF 1880s Copied from the Bronte Enterprise issued Sept. 3, 1964. First school in Coke County was located at Rock Springs near old Fort Chadbourne and was in existence only three years, 1881-1883, well before the organization of the county. According to an early report of the school the walls were made of pickets and the cracks "chinked and daubed with mud." The roof was made of poles and the "cracks filled with bear grass; then mortar was made of clay and spread over the bear grass. The roof was finished by covering with dry earth." The seats were made of split logs and the legs were short posts. There were no backs on the seats. This school was attended and told of by Wiley Bird, Lee Richards and others. SCHOOL AT HAYRICK BEFORE COUNTY Another of the first schools was taught in 1885-86 by a Mr. Hall and was a one room structure on Mountain Creek, one mile west of Hayrick. It was a four-month "subscription school." Tuition was $1.50 per month per child. After that term, the school was moved two miles east to Sand Springs and 11 or 12 pupils were taught by Miss Idalia Nance. Miss Betty Eidson taught there in 1887-88. When the county was organized a Mr. Carrigan and J. J. Bishop were teaching there and the school was moved to Hayrick to a new two-room structure. Mis Vida Youngblood was a substitute teacher. When the county seat was moved the people moved and the daily attendance dropped from 75 to less than a dozen. Permission granted by the Observer/Enterprise for Publication in the Coke County TXGenWeb Archives.