Littig High School is one of the many forgotten negro schools of Travis County and Austin. The school operated from 1887 to 1954. Only few people know the history or whereabouts of this school.
J. W. Bitting owned land on the south of the railroad. In 1887, he donated land for a church and school. On this tract of land were 3 churches, Littig School (Littig Negro School aka Littig School No. 1) and Littig High School all of which were located in the settlement of Littig, Texas just southeast of Manor, Texas. (Littig School No. 1 was also known as “Littig Negro School No. 1”.)
1887 was the year Littig High School was built on 2 acres of land as a two-teacher school and opened as a negro school to educate African American students. The 1887-1888 school year went without problems or delays. Around 100 students attended Littig High School at the very beginning.
Littig High School had educated students in grades 9 through 12 living in Littig, Texas. The teachers got paid for 9 months. The cost per year was $2,854. There were 4 teachers, one for every 61 students. L. Clayton served as the principal during its years of operation. There was no indoor plumbing of course.
In 1927, the board of trustees for Littig Common School District and superintendents of Travis County Common School District aka Travis County Public Schools made plans to rebuild and remodel the Littig High School using the Rosenwald Fund.
Littig High School was rebuilt as a Rosenwald Rural School in 1928. The contract for the remodeling of the one-room school was awarded by the board of trustees of the Littig Common School District to make it a three-room school.
The Nalle Lumber Company of Austin had a bid of $1,871 to remodel Littig High School. The school itself was rebuilt under the Travis County 1927-1928 budget, application 9-G, at a total cost of $3,720 with insurance costing $2,000. The cost of the school was covered through taxes and donations. (Ref: Austin American, October 23, 1928)
Mrs. George Fulton, superintendent of schools for Travis County Public Schools, said,
“Elementary instruction in sewing, cooking, health work, cleanliness, and construction will be offered in the school this year,”
A library was located from inside the middle room with a storage room located behind the high school. Only one door connected to the storage room which was attached to the main building. This room would be used later to prepare meals. The meals for lunch was prepared at the school. There was an outside building for the agricultural department for Future Farmers of America.
Mr. J. C. Sadberry was the last principal to have supervised at Littig High School. L. Clayton would serve as vice principal during its last years of operation.
In 1954, Littig Common School District and its schools were consolidated into Elgin ISD (then Elgin Public Schools) due to low enrollment. The remainder of the Littig High School students were transferred to Washington High School (Washington School) in Elgin, Texas to finish high school.
In 1956, Littig Common School District sold the building to A. Birch and Dorothy J. Williams in a bid auction. Those were the two whom would then later on sell the land property to Charles A. Spradling in 1961. By 1963, Both Dorothy J. Williams and Charles A. Spradling would become sole owners of this parcel of land.
The Littig High School building was relocated to a parcel of land at the location of 18319 Littig Road, Elgin, Texas, US 78621 in 1967. Charles Spradling and Dorothy J. Williams gutted the house sometime between 1968-1970.
By 2008, the former Littig High School building would serve as a horse trough which had served bales of hay to horses. During the year of 2011, the building appeared to be structurally solid from street view using the street view options using Google Maps.
In 2013, the building fell into a state of ruin as a result of rural decay. The roof caved into the side of this building from years of neglect and decay making the building uninhabitable. The former school building became unsafe for human life overtime as a result from decaying.
Today the Littig High School building sits in a state of ruin and rural decay. This wood-framed structure on an adjacent parcel appears to have been largely in ruins.
The Littig High School building is now located at the location of 18319 Littig Road, Elgin, Texas, US 78621 which is near the intersection of Littig Road & Bitting School Road. Both Dorothy J. Williams and Charles A. Spradling own and maintain the property to this day.
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