The Spindletop School is one of the most forgotten schools of Beaumont, Texas. The history of this school has not been well archived or preserved. This news article will explain the history behind Spindletop School. The years Spindletop School operated were from 1954 to 1970. 
Spindletop School was planned to be in elementary school in 1953 by the South Park School District. The 12-room school known as Spindletop School and Spindletop Elementary School was built by the South Park School District in 1954. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/357789850/)
However this school would not operate for very long. 1965 was the year Spindletop School shut down. Dwindling enrollment is the reason why Spindletop School was closed down. Enrollment had been dropping steadily for the past 8 years since 1957. The reason for dwindling enrollment in the school's student body was because Lamar Tech had been buying up land and houses in the area to expand their university. cutting the population in the vicinity of the school. That is why South Park School District voted to close the school at the end of the 1964-1965 semester. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/357789850/)
“Lamar Tech Board of Regents has voted to okay an expenditure of $125,000 to buy Spindletop Elementary School and the 10-acre site on which the school is located. The 12-room school was built by the South Park School District in 1954, but enrollment there has been dropping steadily for the past eight years. The reason for the dip in the school's student body is that Lamar Tech has been buying up land and houses in the area, cutting the population in the vicinity of the school. The South Park school board already has voted to close the school at the end of this semester.”
Lamar Tech (now Lamar University) purchased the school property from South Park School District in 1965. The Spindletop School became part of the Lamar University Campus that same year. However the Spindletop School building was not being used. Spindletop School sat abandoned for a while before being renovated years later.
Lamar Tech had used the buildings as offices and storage in 1970. However the building was mostly used for office space. (Ref: Port Arthur News, November 15, 1970, Page 10, https://newspaperarchive.com/port-arthur-news-nov-15-1970-p-10/)
The Lamar Social Data Center opened on the date of October 19, 1977 and was sharing a wing of the old Spindletop School with the Lamar Media Center. The center served local social service agencies by collecting and archiving data on the quality and delivery of social services. The Lamar Social Data Center also served as a training ground for students studying the field of social services. (Ref: Lamar University Press, https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth499873/m1/1/)
However this building was only open to university students and faculty. The Lamar Social Data Center was off limits to the public. 
The Lamar Social Data Center was opened to the public on the date of April 8, 1978 after being renovated. The school building had been renovated after sitting abandoned for a number of years. The building fell into a state of disrepair after sitting abandoned ad much renovation work needed to be done. (Ref: https://www.legacymuseumconsulting.com/resume)
Students earned up to 12 semester hours of elective credit in their junior and senior years while attending classes at the Lamar Social Data Center and while working half-days in local law firms. Admission was by permission of the head of the Department of Government. (Ref: https://www.lamar.edu/library/resources/archived-catalogs/pdfs/1983---84-lu-general-catalog-vol-32-no-1.pdf)
Today Spindletop School is now owned by Lamar University and now operates as a child development center.
Spindletop School was located on the south side of Beaumont on what is now Jim Gilligan Way (formerly East Florida Avenue). The address for Spindletop School was 950 East Florida Avenue, Beaumont, Texas, US 77705. Today the address for Spindletop School is 996 Jim Gilligan Way, Beaumont, Texas, US 77705.
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