Clear Lake School
Clear Lake School #37
CR 739
Clear Lake, Texas
The community of Clear Lake was located on the south end of the peninsula that had Tickey Creek on the west side and Pilot Grove Creek on its east side. With the creation of Lake Lavon, the roads connecting Clear Lake to communities to the east and south were underwater. The school building was demolished for being too close to the lake shore.
Clear Lake School was not included on a list of Collin County schools in 1880. In 1884 the United States government built and operated a distillery on the banks of a small lake known as Clear Lake and Pilot Grove Creek. The town of Clear Lake was established in 1890. In 1890 the school had 30 students.
The farmers of Lick Prairie met at Clear Lake School house in February of 1898 and organized a home industry club. Object of the club was to foster home enterprises by consuming their products in preference to foreign made goods and to increase prices of farm produce, etc.
Prof. A. F. McDonald, principal of Clear Lake school in January of 1901 said there were 65 enrolled with an attendance of 55; Leslie McDonald was the assistant. With the exception of one week’s suspension on account of the small pox scare, the interest on the part of patrons and pupils was at fever heat. These young gentlemen were well qualified and Collin county would soon be proud of them.
C. Shuman, presiding election officer, brought in the returns of the local option election held in Clear Lake school district No. 37 on July 6, 1901. The area had about 65 voters in the district, 50 of them had an opportunity and signed the petition to the commissioners’ court praying for the election but only 36 votes were cast on election day. The pros carried the election by a vote of 33 to 3.
In June of 1902 John L Jones and Miss Beulah Hefner were married Sunday at Clear Lake school house, Rev. Conwell, pastor Baptist church, officiating. The couple drove up to the school house in a buggy just before preaching began and called the minister out who in a few words made them man and wife, and they returned to the home of the bride’s mother where a number of their friends had been invited to partake of a splendid wedding dinner.
Prof. W. T. Turner closed his vocal school at Clear Lake in April 1904 with a big crowd the last night and organized the Clear Lake vocal class with T. P. Soden, president; Miss Etta Hillis, secretary and treasurer; A. F. Eggers, leader; S. B. Preston, George Dale, assistant leaders; to meet every Thursday night. Everybody was invited.
The Clear Lake school house in district No. 37 was built in 1910 at a cost of $1600 by a special tax levied for that purpose. It was the only school building in Collin County constructed according to specifications furnished by the State Superintendent’s office at Austin. It had a term of six months in 1912-13.
W. T. Russell, J. B. Poor and L. M. Johnson were the trustees.
It was one of the handsomest, most substantially and conveniently constructed school houses in the county.
Clear Lake school was opened in November 1907 with Prof. Herring in charge.
Miss Lena Thompson was teacher in 1908; Prof. Walter Dotson was principal with Prof. Will McDonald as his assistant in 1913; Prof. Walter Dotson was employed to teach there in 1913-14; J. W. Akin in 1915; and Miss Wilma Copeland in 1936.
By 1936 the enrollment of the Clear Lake School had steadily increased until there was an enrollment of 82. The attendance was unusually good, averaging about ninety percent.
Both the boys and girls basketball teams were showing up exceptionally well considering the fact that only eight grades were taught in the school. The girls had played seven games and won all except two. On Wednesday night before Christmas, the girls played the Farmersville girls in the Princeton gym and defeated them 26 to 15. Capt. Eva Lois Drain was the high scorer making a total of 17 points. On Friday afternoon before Christmas the boys played the Copeville boys and defeated them 18-16 in a close and hard-fought game.
The teachers of the school in 1936 were: A. B. LeFevre, principal; Miss Mary Campbell, 5th and 6th grades; Miss Wilma Copeland, 3rd and 4th grades; Miss Lavonia Binkley, primary grades. The hot tamale supper at the Clear Lake school house was a success.
In 1939 one of the most enjoyable occasions of this season was the closing of the Clear Lake school, when a home coming of citizens of that community was made possible by Supt. Harper, who sponsored the meeting, and the Clear Lake 4-H Club members, who fed and cared for the beef animal which was killed and barbecued. Mr. Will Addington co-operated by permitting the boys to use his lot, shed and pasture for the calf.
In June 1939 all of the teachers were re-elected to teach the next term: Mr. Melvin Harper, principal; Mr. Allen McMillan, 3d room; Mrs. Delzie Harper, 2d room; Miss Ruth Reeder 1st room. A linen and kitchen shower, sponsored by the basketball girls of the 1937-38 and 1938-39 teams, with Mrs. Luther Trammel and Mrs. I. B. Russell as co-hostesses, was given at the Clear Lake school house May 2, honoring Prof. and Mrs. Harper of Clear Lake. Friends from other places attended.
In 1944 Prof. Melvin M. Harper of the Clear Lake school announced that the Clear Lake community was over the top in their Red Cross drive. Mr. Luther Smith and Mr. Jack Bentley assisted Prof. Harper in the drive. The Clear Lake School was taught by Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Harper in 1948.
The Clear Lake school went out of existence with the advent of Lake Lavon in about 1956. It was a square wooden four-room structure that housed grades one through 10. With enrollment of 75 or 80, the school served children who lived on farms north and east of Wylie.
The school building was razed for being too close to Lake Lavon. The area is part of the Princeton school district now.
