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Historical Marker
Carrollton, TX Highool Sch
Carrollton &
Farmers Branch
TXGenWeb |
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Carrollton Historic Site
Carrollton High School
The oldest school in the
Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. Land donated by DeWitt
Clinton Perry and sister Harriet Perry Warner.
Construction began December 1935, school opened September 14,
1936. Though "DeWitt Perry High School" was in stone over the
entrance it was referred to as Carrollton High School and
diplomas were issued in that name. DeWitt Perry name officially
recognized in 1962 when
Turner High School
opened and this became a junior high school.
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HISTORICAL MARKER UNVEILING
It seemed more like a school reunion than a ceremony to unveil
a historical marker.
About 200 people almost filled the bleachers on the west side of the
DeWitt Perry Middle School gymnasium Saturday morning for a ceremony
preceding the unveiling of a historical marker in front of the site
of the old Carrollton High School.
About one fourth of those present had actually attended and
graduated from Carrollton High School before it became a junior high
school in 1962 in conjunction with the opening of R.L. Turner High
School.
Rudy McDonald, chairperson of the Historical Preservation Advisory
Committee (HPAC), emceed the program and told the crowd, “Welcome to
this historic occasion.”
He added, “Without knowledge of the past, we would be constantly
relearning. We need to know where we are now, how we got here and
where we can go in the future.”
Sarah Salmon, a 1946 graduate of Carrollton High School, was asked
to come forward and give a history of Carrollton High School.
Pointing to the alumni in the crowd, she said, “No one could tell
the history of Carrollton High School like these people right here.”
“I started to school in the old red brick building,” she said.
“However, I attended the first grade in the basement of the First
Christian Church because the school building was too crowded.”
She said she could remember when there were no bleachers at the
football stadium and people watched the football games either by
standing alongside the field or by sitting in their cars.
“We’ve come a long way,” she said.
She called on people in the crowd to stand when the year of their
graduation was called out.
Marion Good Blanton, who likes to refer to herself as Mrs. Jack
Blanton, was the first to stand. She graduated in 1939. Her husband
was later a newspaperman, state representative and mayor of
Carrollton.
Following the ceremony in the gymnasium, the crowd went out in front
of the building to watch as the historical marker was unveiled.
Both sides of the marker are used to provide the history:
“The oldest high school in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. Land
donated by DeWitt Clinton Perry and sister Harriet Perry Warner.
Construction began December 1935. School opened September 14, 1936.
Though ‘DeWitt Perry High School’ was in stone over the entrance, it
was referred to as Carrollton High School and diplomas were issued
in that name. DeWitt Perry name officially recognized in 1962 when
Turner High School opened and this became a junior high school.
(continued on other side).
“This is also the site of the First Carrollton High School building
‘Old Red’ which opened on January 19, 1916. That two-story and
basement building was built of red brick from the Carrollton Brick
Company. Previously, students attended an unpainted clapboard school
at the corner of what is now Belt Line & Erie. ‘Old Red’ was razed
in 1966 for additions to DeWitt Perry Jr. High and the Harriet Perry
Warner Gymnasium. The original cornerstone for ‘Old Red’ is located
adjacent to this marker.”
The Carrollton Leader - September 21, 2006 |
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High school gains spot in
history
A dedication ceremony for a historical marker in front of the oldest
school in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District
was held in September.
The ceremony for the marker was held in front of DeWitt Perry Middle
School, at 1709 Belt Line Road in Carrollton.
DeWitt Clinton Perry and his sister, Harriet Perry Warner, donated
land for the original school in 1915. The first school, often
referred to as “Old Red,” was a two-story building, with a basement.
It was built with brick from the Carrollton Brick Company and opened
on January 19, 1916.
Construction on a new Carrollton High School began in December 1935
and the school opened on Sept. 14, 1936.
Though “DeWitt Perry High School” was in stone over the entrance, it
was always referred to as Carrollton High School, and diplomas were
issued in that name.
The school became DeWitt Perry Junior High School in 1962, when
Turner High School was opened. Later, after the school was renamed
as a middle school, a new sign was placed in front of the old DeWitt
Perry High School sign, which reads, “DeWitt Perry Middle School.”
Prior to 1916, students had attended an unpainted clapboard school
at the corner of what is now Belt Line and Erie.
“Old Red” was razed in 1966 to make way for additions to DeWitt
Perry Junior High and the Harriet Perry Warner Gymnasium. The
original cornerstone for “Old Red” is adjacent to the marker site.
Carrollton Star - Dec 26, 2006 |
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Dedication of the Carrollton High School Historical Marker. Next
to the marker is former CHS graduates and members of the Peters
Colony Historical Society, Howard Cox & Marian Blanton, and Rudy
McDonald from the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee (HPAC) of
Carrollton, TX Photo submitted by
Betty Lou (Stanley) Dennis |
Notes:
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Carrollton-Farmers
Branch TXGenWeb