Friday, April 6, 2018

History of Chapman Ranch School not forgotten.

Chapman Ranch School was a school established for the community of Chapman Ranch, Texas located south of Corpus Christi, Texas. The school operated from 1912 to 1951. The community of Chapman, Texas operated 2 schools, an elementary school and a high school. The elementary school taught grades 1 through 6 and the high school taught grades 7 through 12. Chapman Ranch Elementary School was the elementary school and Chapman Ranch High School was the high school. There was no middle school or junior high.

Chapman Ranch School is one of the many forgotten schools of Corpus Christi, Texas along with Nueces County. Not many people know of this school or its whereabouts. This history of this school has been much forgotten overtime.


Chapman Ranch School was built as a three-room school building in 1912 to educate students in grades 1 through 6. Chapman Ranch School only taught grades 1 through 6. Middle school students/junior high school students, senior high school students, and high school students attended school in Corpus Christi.

By 1913, the school has a student population of 100. Christi Independent School District (Corpus Christi ISD) began overseeing Chapman Ranch School as a “county school” for which the school operated as prior to 1925. From 1912 to 1925 is when Nueces County Common School District operated Chapman Ranch School as a “county school” for Corpus Christi and Nueces County.


By 1920, the school had 200 students. However the school never reached a student population never reached 300 given the population size of Chapman Ranch. Eventually the school outgrew its facilities. During the mid-1920s, plans to construct two new school buildings were implemented. 

According to The Laws of Texas, 1921 [Volume 21], Texas State Board of Education (now TEA) established Santa Cruz Independent School District (Santa Cruz ISD) in the year of 1921. Chapman Ranch School was a part of Santa Cruz Independent School District (Santa Cruz Independent School District No. 6) before being consolidated into Corpus Christi Corpus Christi Independent School District (Corpus Christi ISD). Chapman Ranch School also had went under the name of Santa Cruz School. The school was also known as Santa Cruz School to Corpus Christi natives.

A new school was built in 1925 which still stands today. The 1925 building had 3 rooms. Eleven teachers provided instruction for both elementary school students and high school students. In 1925, a second school building was built to educate high school students in grades 9 through 12. From 1925 to 1950 is when Chapman Ranch School operated as a 1-12 school.

In 1925, a second school building was built and it would become Chapman Ranch High School. High school students were educated here. The Chapman Ranch High School was rated as first class by the Texas Board of Education and had been granted full affiliation.

According to Lubbock Morning Avalanche, Texas Board of Education rated Chapman Ranch High School as a first class school. (Ref: Lubbock Morning Avalanche, Page 14, December 8, 1928)

In 1928, a total of 250 students attended schools in Santa Cruz ISD. 50 students registered in the high school, 125 in the elementary school, and 75 in the “Mexican School” (Santa Cruz Mexican School), thus a total of 250 students altogether. (Ref: Lubbock Morning Avalanche, Page 14, December 8, 1928)


School segregation was part of school life in Chapman Ranch. Only white students attended Chapman Ranch School. However Hispanic students began attending the school in the 1940s. 10% percent of the student population was Hispanic with Mexican ancestry. Many Hispanic students had families in Mexico.

In 1949, school officials for the Chapman Ranch School faced a health charge. Restrooms were deemed unsanitary by state officials from Texas State Board of Education (now TEA). Sanitation issues plagued the school during the 1940s as it did across many rural schools in the state of Texas, the West Coast, and across the Southern United States.


In 1950 during the 1950-1951 school year, Chapman School went from being a 1-12 to a 1-6 again for the first time in 25 years. Chapman Ranch School once again became a school where grades 1 through 6 were educated. Student population for Chapman Ranch School downsized due to Gilmer-Aiken Law which also allowed students in certain grades to transfer to neighboring school distorts if their own school district did not have a high school, senior high school, or a middle school/junior high school let alone a school that held secondary school classes.

Chapman Ranch School and the Santa Cruz Independent School District had been annexed by the city of Corpus Christi in 1951. The school continued to operate in 1951 despite being annexed by the city of Corpus Christi.

According to a news article from The Corpus Christi Caller-Times dating back to May 15, 1955, Chapman Ranch School operated three classrooms for grades 1 through 7. Each brick building contained 6 rooms. Both school buildings downsized from 6 rooms in each building to 3 rooms in each building. However The Corpus Christi Caller-Times perfectly starts Chapman Ranch School maintained only three classrooms. 135 students in grades 1 through 7 attended Chapman Ranch School in 1955.

The 1st grade was the only grade in which one teacher was assigned exclusively to educate. Grades 2, 3, and 4 were housed in a second room and grades 5, 6, and 7 were housed in a third room. Paul Cohn was the teacher for grades 5 through 7. (Ref: The Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Page 21, May 15, 1955)

So sometime during the 1950s is when Chapman Ranch School went from being a 1-6 school to a one 1-7 school. Later on during the 1950s is when Chapman Ranch School became a 1-7 school. High school students no longer attended Chapman Ranch School. High school students attended school in Corpus Christi. School stopped after 7th grade. 8th grade was added back in 1956. However that lasted until 1960.

Paul Cohn was superintendent of Chapman Ranch School (head man) and teacher as well during the 1950s. His job was to teach students who came from 100% percent Spanish speaking families. He believed in developing a sense of responsibility in children. Paul Cohn said, “Somewhere along the line they have to stop being led and learn to do things for themselves,”

On Friday afternoons, upper grades devoted time to square dancing and interpretive dancing. Girls began typing lessons in the 5th grade. Boys learned how to perform industrial work in the 4th grade. Milk was 2 cents a gallon. All grades worked on skits.


In 1975, H.A. George became superintendent of the Santa Cruz Independent School District in the community of Chapman Ranch. He was the only male member on a six-person teaching staff. Most teachers were primarily female. Chapman Ranch School had 100 students attending classes.

According to a news article from Abilene Reporter-News dating back to December 10, 1977, a threat to cut off federal funds to three tiny South Texas school districts was made by the US Department of Education. Santa Cruz ISD gets 90 percent of its annual $130,000 budget from local taxes. The other 10 percent comes from the state. (Ref: Abilene Reporter-News, Page 21, December 10, 1977)

Chapman Ranch School and Santa Cruz ISD were consolidated into Corpus Christi Independent School District (Corpus Christi ISD) in 1981 and ceased operating. Chapman Ranch School closed in 1981. Chapman Ranch School had been closed down due to Gilmer-Aikin Law that had consolidated smaller school districts into neighboring larger school districts. Other reasons why this school was closed is due to lack of enrollment and increasing maintenance costs. Those are the many reasons why rural public schools in Texas close down.

At one point in 1982, Chapman Ranch School became a church. Various church services were held in the school buildings before they became abandoned in 2010.

Chapman Ranch School is located at 1046 CR 8B, Chapman Ranch, Texas, US 78347.

10 comments:

  1. Who owns the building now? I would like to explore but don't know who to ask.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just explored it today. I didn’t ask anyone but be careful

      Delete
  2. Thanks so much for sharing this history. I passed the school the other day and wondered about it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Do you know the address of the school.

    Thanks,
    Mario Moya
    flexmoya69@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mario, Chapman Ranch School is located at 1046 CR 8B, Chapman Ranch, Texas, US 78347.

      Delete
  4. I went to 6 7 8 grades at Chapman Ranch. It was my dad who was superintendent for over 25 years. HA George

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I went there for grades 6, 7 and 8 and then went to Wynn Seal and Mary Carroll. I remember your dad.

      Delete
  5. I went to school there from 1961 thru 1967
    It was a great school

    ReplyDelete
  6. The history is wrong… I was going to school at Chapman ranch in 87 and 88

    ReplyDelete