Carroll School

Dove School began nearby in 1847 as one of the earliest schools in Tarrant County, and White's Chapel, Sams, and Easter, later Union, schools also served the area in the late 1800s. In 1917, Tarrant County commissioners combined the schools to form Common School District No. 99, later named for county superintendent of public instruction B.E. Carroll, while students continued to attend one-room schools across the district. In May 1919, district residents petitioned for a property tax election to fund $7500 in construction bonds for a centrally located school, and in June voters at White's Chapel Methodist Church approved the measure 29 to 25. The first school trustees, E.E. Higgins, J.R. Shivers, and B.F. Griffin, bought a five-acre hilltop parcel for $500, and Frank Estill built a three-room, one-story brick schoolhouse. The school opened with three teachers instructing 97 students in nine grades, and a wood-framed classroom for lower grades, a lunchroom, and a nearby teacherage were added. About 1950, the schoolhouse expanded by three rooms. In 1956, the school became the birthplace of Southlake when residents voted there to incorporate, and for several years the schools also served as a town hall. In 1959, voters created Carroll Independent School District. The school remained an elementary school until 1970, then served as classrooms and office space until closing in 2001. As the first public building in this once-rural settlement, it embodies the traditions and humble beginnings of a growing public school district and city.

Southlake, Texas · United States