A History of Collin County, Texas Page: 77
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Schools, Churches and Newspapers
townball, darebase, rooster fight, hoops, bullpen, crack-the-whip, "anti-
over," leapfrog, skyball, mumble peg, and marbles, and ran races.
During the days of the Republic the government did little to pro-
mote education, although President Mirabeau B. Lamar did what he
could to encourage it. Large tracts of land were set aside to aid in the
establishment and support of schools; but land was plentiful and cheap,
so it produced little revenue. Early settlers did not object to taxation
at the state level for the support of schools; but they did oppose local
taxes for that purpose, since they thought it unfair to tax one man to
help educate another man's children.
Because of the slavery issue during the period between 1848 and the
Civil War, there was distrust of teachers from the North and, also of
the character of the textbooks.
The law of 1854 first made possible a system of free public educa-
tion in Texas; but this was voluntary and funds were scarce, so little
progress was made. At that time the Masonic and Odd Fellow lodges
contributed materially toward bringing free public education to Texas.
A quotation from The Development of Education in Texas by Dr.
Frederick Eby of the University of Texas emphasizes this:
The services of Masonic lodges in conducting schools and furnishing
buildings were possibly greater than any single religious denomination.
. . . Their services must be regarded as one of the most important
transitional steps toward free public education.
Another valuable service contributed by the Masons was that of peace-
maker and mediator between denominational schools, thus seeking to
eliminate and prevent sectarian rivalry.
During the Civil War, school facilities that were already poor be-
came worse. In I862 a state apportionment of 62 cents was sent to
qualified schools for the last time, and during the war the state school
fund was diverted to other purposes.
In framing the Constitution of i866 an unsuccessful effort was made
to improve the schools. During the Reconstruction period, carpetbag-
gers tried to force an arbitrary and extravagant system of public free
education and compulsory school attendance on the people; but the
disfranchised citizens of Texas refused to cooperate. As late as 1871
there were only one or two publicly owned school buildings in the
state. Many features of this radical system tried during reconstruction
days were good; but the methods of operation were faulty. When
77
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Stambaugh, J. Lee, b. 1889; Stambaugh, Lillian J., b. 1888 & Carroll, H. Bailey. A History of Collin County, Texas, book, 1958; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth61096/m1/91/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .