Updated history of Pleasant Valley School in Austin, Texas.

Pleasant Valley School was a school in Austin, Texas that operated from 1864 to 1968. The school building was located where modern day intersection FM 2222 & Loop 360 is now located. Pleasant Valley School first served as an elementary school serving grades 1 through 5. Later Pleasant Valley School became a 1-11 school serving grades 1 through 11.

Pleasant Valley School served as school for students living in the neighborhoods of Northwest Hills, Allandale, West Austin, Courtyard, Spicewood, Pleasant Valley, Spicewood Mesa, and Twin Mesa neighborhoods. Even students from the Eanes School District attended Pleasant Valley School despite living in Westlake at one point in the latter half of the 19th century.


Thomas Hughell Walden donated land to Travis County Appraisal District for a school in 1864 located on land which owned called Old Walden Place where the modern day intersection FM 2222 & Loop 360 is now located. Pleasant Valley School opened up as a schoolhouse where school was held inside a log cabin built in 1864. Classes would be held for this school inside of the log cabin from 1864 to 1867.

Hughell Walden, Ewan Williams, and Fendrick Smith were the first school trustees. Miss Jennie Parrish, Mrs. Munn, and Mr. Stringer were the teachers. Ewan Williams gave 1½ acres of land to the school. Pleasant Valley School was also known as Bull Creek School on several topographical maps from the 1880’s to the 1910’s as the school was located near Bull Creek.

The old school building was outmoded and outdated by 1866. So a new log cabin was built in 1867. School was held in this log cabin from 1867 until 1919. The first school year for this school building was the 1867-1868 school year. Funding was tight as money was scarce during the Reconstruction era after the American Civil War. Grades 1 through 5 only were taught at this school. Students wanting to continue towards 6th grades and onwards went to Oak Grove School on Spicewood Springs Road.

The 1867 Pleasant Valley School log cabin building burned down to the ground in 1885. This led to a dispute in land titles over who owned the land where Pleasant Valley School was located. The school itself was located on a flat. Although Pleasant Valley School was on land owned by Thomas Hughell Walden, the school building moved several times. Eventually the school itself was rebuilt in 1885.

Classes continued in the school year of 1885-1886. Grades 6 through 11 were added in 1886. One side of Pleasant Valley School served grades 1 through 5 and the other side served grades 6 through 11. The side that served grades 1 through 5 switched to serve grades 1 through 6.


In 1918, the Travis County Schools superintendent deemed the school building to be outdated and overcrowded. This led to a demand for aa new school building to be built. However that area of town suffered from extreme poverty at that time and receiving a new school building would be a difficult task.

The land was considered to be very poor by county and city officials as the Northwest Hills neighborhood and Allandale was sparsely settled due to the mountainous hills alongside the rocky limestone formations. Lands were used for farming and ranch. Most of the citizens living in the Northwest Hills neighborhood and in Allandale were very poor back then. The flat yet somewhat mountainous hills alongside the rocky limestone formations alongside Northwest Hills was a perfect ideal location for a school to be built on.


1919 was the year Pleasant Valley School District was formed. Although Pleasant Valley had its own school district by 1919, Travis County Public Schools (Travis County Common School District) operated and oversaw the school. The Travis County Schools superintendent was responsible for helping allocate funding to several rural schools and school district in Travis County.

 The Pleasant Valley School District had a 50¢ cent school tax which produced only $91.83 per year, which in turn was only $4.84 per student of free-school age. The Travis County Schools superintendent was responsible for helping allocate funding to Pleasant Valley School.

During the summer of 1919, people from the Allandale and Northwest Hills neighborhoods voted bonds within an amount of $2,000 dollars build a new modern two-room schoolhouse. The vote was unanimous due to their desires for a better school. It was a cry for help. A cry for better educational facilities. Thomas Hughell Walden was the man instrumental in getting Austin Public Schools (Austin ISD) to establish the new Pleasant Valley School building. He and several other petitioned city officials and county officials to build a new schoolhouse in the Pleasant Valley/Northwest Hills community.

When the bonds reached the Attorney General's office for inspection, they could not be approved.  The bonds to build a new school were rejected. Only $500 dollars in bonds could be legally issued for construction of Pleasant Valley School. The tax base of the district was simply too small. The new schoolhouse was not built. Instead an old was provided with a new roof and a new floor along with 2 extra windows.

Pleasant Valley School later opened up as a schoolhouse for Austin ISD (then known as Austin Public Schools) and Travis County Public Schools (Travis County Common School District) in 1919 as a one story two-room wooden-framed schoolhouse that would be later on converted into a three-room wooden-framed schoolhouse in what was considered then as rural Travis County. Years of operation for this school were from 1919 to 1968.


Unfortunately the one story school would face another tragedy. The school burned down again in the year of 1931. The school burned down to the ground. Everything was destroyed by the fire. Books, desks, educational material, sports equipment, and several other items were never recovered. It was a total loss for Pleasant Valley School District. Students were sent to Oak Gove School in the Oak Grove School District (School District No. 5) temporarily until a new school building could be built.

Fortunately however, the school was able to be rebuilt in 1932 after being burned down to a flat surface. 1932 was also the same time where the school became accredited receiving accreditation from the State of Texas. Later Pleasant Valley School became a 1-11 school. The State of Texas accredited Pleasant Valley School with high acclaim for their educational standards.

On the 1932 Topographic and Road Map of Travis Count, the school appears as Pleasant Valley School. Pleasant Valley School was no longer referred to as Bull Creek School any maps from the 1930s onwards.


The school would not live on forever. It too would be moved as the city of Austin grew around it.
Pleasant Valley School District was closed in 1968 when the school property reverted by sale to Mrs. C.C. Champion as provided in the original deed, Pleasant Valley School District was closed and consolidated into Summitt School District and later Austin ISD. Austin ISD sending the remaining students to continue their education in nearby schools in the Austin school district.

The other reasons why the Pleasant Valley School and Pleasant Valley School District closed was due to declining enrollment and imminent domain. Shortly after sale to Mrs. C.C. Champion as provided in the original deed, Pleasant Valley School sat abandoned for 2 years until 1970.


In 1970, Pleasant Valley School was relocated and made into a private residence on the Champion family land. This was done in order to prevent demolition. The Champion family donated land to TXDot for Loop 360 and have donated huge portions of their land to real estate development during the latter half of the 20th century.

Imminent domain would make right of way for a new Loop 360 and the Pleasant Valley School building was in its route (right of way). That Loop 360 route that would eventually become a highway to serve West Austin neighborhoods such as Courtyard, Allandale, Spicewood, Pleasant Valley, and Northwest Hills. City of Austin used imminent domain to construct Loop 360 where Pleasant Valley School was at.


As of December 2017, the Pleasant Valley School building is now a private residence on land owned by the Champion family. The school building has been repainted a white color which was the original color for this school building.

However the land is being rezoned by the Champion family for a hotel and is slated for demolition. The Champion family isn't keen on getting historical status or a Texas Historic Landmark marker for the school building as they want to proceed with building the hotel. No, the Champion family has not gotten the City of Austin to initiate historic zoning to keep the building in tact. So far nothing has been done yet. Only time will tell certainly.


Pleasant Valley School was located at the intersection of Loop 360 & FM 2222, Austin, Texas, US.