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History
in a Pecan Shell
The town was named after investor William Whitewright in 1878, as
the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad was fast approaching. Whitewright
platted the town and lots were soon being sold by his agents. In the
1880s the town had all essential businesses as well as a private school,
Grayson College, and a public school.
A post office was granted in 1888. The population was nearly just
over 1,800 by 1900 and 1,666 twenty-years later.
Whitewright was served by the MKT and the Cotton Belt through the
1920s. Whitewright enjoyed a continued success as a supply center
and shipping point for farmers.
The population after WWII
remained at a respectable 1,537 although businesses declined. |
Whitewright,
Texas Landmarks
& Photo Gallery
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Downtown Whitewright
after the 1911 Fire
Photo
courtesy Brett Christoffel |
Same view of
Downtown Whitewright today
Photo
courtesy Brett Christoffel, 2011
More Texas Then &
Now |
Another view
of Downtown Whitewright
Photo
courtesy Brett Christoffel, 2011 |
Site of Former
Whitewright High School
Photos
courtesy Stephen
Taylor, May 2006 |
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"This is an
interesting little building we found on the site of the former Whitewright
High School. While the former Whitewright High School is gone, this
building remains.
Our research finds that the building was built between 1900-1905 and
was used as a laboratory for the former Grayson College campus in
Whitewright.
Sometime around 1920, after the new Whitewright High School was built
on the site the building sat dormant for some time. But by 1929, the
building was being used for "Manual training". When I was in school,
we called that "Shop".
The building today seems well secured and is owned by the First Baptist
Church in Whitewright.
It is all that remains of the old Whitewright High School and Grayson
college before that." - Stephen
Taylor |
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| "This is
the gymnasium/auditorium at Whitewright. Built in 1936, it appears
to be a collaboration between the City of Whitewright and the School
District. Today, the First Baptist church owns the property and the
gym is being used as an activity center. All the windows have been
replaced, and it has a new roof." - Stephen
Taylor, May 19, 2006 |
Whitewright,
Texas Forum
Impersonation
of a Bricklayer
About Whitewright High School Gym and Lab
I attended and graduated from Whitewright High School. I used to live
nearby I am writing after reading (the first of many) your website
has for WHS.
The gym information and picture caught my eye. As well the "City and
School" connection to building it. The crew was a WPA crew, if I remember
correctly. Also, there was a man on the construction crew who did
not know how to lay brick, but said he did! This caused two things
to happen. One is he lost his job. The other is that after catching
the errors, the crew placed one huge block/brick upon another, not
staggering it as usual! This is on the face of the building. This
story was told to me when I found a man and son at dusk looking for
the blocks and errors with a flashlight to point them out. The error
was fixed also by placing a "half block" or brick in the front of
the building or elsewhere.
The Lab building was always shut whenever I went to school there.
It was said to be a museum, a site dedicated to the old College days.
I used to see a reunion there about every year, on Sundays. One day
after I was grown I passed and recognized this gathering at the building
as the suppossed "reunion." Everyone, as usual, was dressed in suits
and "to the "nines." I also swear I recognized one of the people as
being the famous "Higgins" character on the television show, "Magnum
P.I." Now you may understand why I'd like my name witheld. I am pretty
sure it was he, as I used to watch that show and read a bit about
it. Seeing pictures of him (don't remember his real name) I also remembered
that in one episode he played his "twin brother" from Texas. I wondered
at the [difficulty of] swapping an English Brogue (mum was a Scot
) to a Texas drawl! - NWBR, Somewhere in Texas, September 22, 2007
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| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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