History of Lawn District Number 54

The Santa Fe Railroad was built through the section where Lawn stands today, in 1910 and the little town at once sprang up, receiving its name, apparently from the attractive site selected. That year the Commissioners' Court organized the school district by the same name, from territory taken from Oak Lawn District (Number Eighteen), Ovalo District (Number Nineteen), and the Dewey District (Number Thirty-three). The first school was taught in a one-room building donated by the people of the community; it was poorly equipped. Mr. J. E. Henderson and Miss Sarah Jackson, were the teachers during the two years of the one-teacher school. In 1911-1912, Mr. Walter Griffith and Miss Lorena Holland had charge of the work and conditions were much improved with relief given to the crowded condition that had existed before. In 1912, taxes were increased and bonds to the amount of $6,000 were voted. The present building of which the district is justly proud, was erected in 1912. It is a red brick-structure with four good classrooms downstairs and a large auditorium upstairs, with space here for additional class rooms if needed and with two good small rooms properly arranged for work in domestic science. The site, a splendid two-acre tract just to the northwest of the town, seems ideal. In 1915, the tax of the district was raised to twenty-five cents and a third teacher was added; in 1917, there was another raise to fifty cents -in order that the district might have some of the advantages offered State Aid schools; in 1921, without any difficulty, Lawn voted the limit on the tax-one dollar and was enabled to have, for 1921-1922, a faculty of four teachers, for the first time in its history. The great number of pupils in attendance this year seems to demand a fifth teacher for the next year, if this arrangement is possible.

A good music department has been connected with the school this year, under the direction of Mrs. S. V. Shores, and domestic science has been very creditably done under the direction of Miss Ione Shackelford (now Mrs. Guy Weeks.) The domestic science equipment is especially worthy of mention. M. M. Sheffield, A. E. Chatham, and Miss Lettie Cottrell have been the other teachers of the school; under their good direction, the interest in the work has grown and Lawn has every prospect of becoming very soon one of the very best schools of its class in this section. Watch her "go over the top."

Class Roll