Mexia Daily News - Jul. 28, 2005 edition

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Wortham, Freestone County's First High School
By J. R. "Sonny" Sessions - Special to The News

Wortham situated on land granted Robert Longbotham by the Mexican Colonization
Land Grant in 1835.

First known as Longbotham, later as Tehuacana Station when the railroad came in
the 1770's. The Methodist Church and Masonic Lodge built a two-story frame
building for church services and Masonic meetings. It was believed that both
boys and girls were educated here. The Masons opened their building for the
first private school in Wortham.

The first public school was organized in 1883 in a boxed building 25 feet by 30
feet. The first teachers were Professor Miller and Mrs. George Bounds. The
ABC's, McGuffey's Reader, Davie's Arithmetic, the Blue Book Speller and writing
were taught to all ages who were in classes according to their reading
abilities. The boys sat on one side of the room, the girls on the other. At
recess the boys played on one side of the yard and girls on the other.

Professor Miller a strong disciplinarian who believed in whipping his pupils.
This caused a second private school to be organized mostly girls of parents who
objected to the punishment. This school lasted only 5 years. Professor William
Kirven followed Professor Miller in 1885. During Prof. Kirven's service Wortham
formed the first Independent School District in Freestone Co. in 1891.

Over the years a gradual increase in scholastics was noted and in 1913 Wortham
was the first school in Freestone Co. to be granted affiliation with the State
University. In 1922 a new high school building was erected, three stories and
costing $50,000 for grades nine through twelve with an elaborate auditorium on
the top floor.

With the discovery of oil Thanksgiving 1924 the town of 1,000 became a town of
20,000 nearly overnight. The school population exploded mostly in the lower
grades, children had to sit on wooden boxes as not enough room at the desks.
Due to the lack of textbooks, most of the work had to be written on the black
board. Many students living on the east side of town continued their education
in the home of Mrs. Ada Peurifoy as parents did not feel it safe for the
children to travel thru town to the public school. By 1926 there were 23
teachers and 600 students with 27 affiliated units of instruction offered. The
school was put on the Southern Accrediting List of High Schools.

Families in other areas of Freestone County that did not have an accredited
high school moved to Wortham and Mexia or made arrangements for their children
to live here and attend school during its regular terms.

Most of this information collected by Mrs. Jacqueline Collins and her school
class and published in a small booklet in 1996 for students and ex-students.
The Freestone Co. Historical Comm. assisted with the publication expenses and
other including a Texas Historical Marker dedicated that year.
"