Amanda Nite Burks (1841-1931) and her husband, William Franklin Burks (d.1877), moved their ranching operation to present-day La Salle County in 1876. After her husband's death, Amanda continued to run the ranch for more than fifty years. Like many early residents of the area, she believed in the importance of education. A frame building served Cotulla's educational needs soon after the town was founded in 1882. A two-story brick structure was built in 1909, and it was renamed in Amanda Burks's honor shortly before her death in 1931. A new Amanda Burks school was built in 1953.