BREWSTER COUNTY ’ S FIRST SCHOOL HOUSE North 3rd Street , Marathon
“ Oldest school building in Brewster County . Built in 1888 . Used for all public meetings and elections . Restored in 1928 by Ladies of Marathon Study Club . Is known as the Club House . Recorded Texas historic landmark — 1965 ”
Before Marathon came into existence in 1882 , a small school at Fort Pena Colorado was maintained for the children of soldiers and the few civilians that settled near the camp , taught by Mary Roberts . By 1881 , the camp had been largely deactivated , and the families had moved north to where the railroad would soon be coming through . At that time , a Miss Paxton held a private school in a small adobe room .
In 1888 the citizens of the new town donated funds to build a single-room community building on the town square . It served as a school , a church and a public meeting place . Built of adobe , it cost $ 500 . Charles Hess , Mage Moore and John Marshall built the roof . A local Mexican named
Gonzales made the adobe , laid the brick and did the plaster work , for which he was paid a mule . Legend has it that the night after he completed his work , he lost the mule in a poker game .
The school bell was donated by Ben Shepard , brother of Albion Shepard , who first platted the townsite . It was later moved to the new school when the original building was outgrown . During World War II , Marathon held a scrap drive , and the school donated all the old cast-iron desks and the old bell . A Mr . Thomas Henderson recognized it and rescued it from the smelting heap . Repeated attempts by Mr . Henderson to reinstall the bell at the original schoolhouse failed , and he kept it safe for the town for 37 years before townsfolk helped him put it back where it belonged . Today the little schoolhouse , with its bell , are in development as a community museum through the Marathon Public Library .
28 Cenizo Winter 2022