Valdasta School
Valdasta School #3
Old Valdasta Road
Blue Ridge, Texas
The community of Valdasta is situated twelve or fourteen miles northeast from McKinney near Sister Grove Creek. When the community applied for a post office in 1886, it wanted to use the name Vandersville. The name was rejected and Valdasta was suggested instead. The Burgess school, which was located about one-mile northwest of Valdasta, consolidated with Valdasta School around 1900. The new district was Valdasta School District #3.
The teachers at Valdasta school included was Miss Dora Nichols in 1901; J. S. Reid in 1905; Miss Ollie Sparks in 1907; and Prof. C. C. Martin and Miss Ethel McCormack in 1909. In the fall of 1907, the Valdasta school had thirty-seven pupils. “Grandpa” and “Grandma” Airheart and Miss Myrtle Smith, from the Wooddale community, visited in Valdasta. There were 109 students in 1912.
R. L. Cantrel of Valdasta, one of the trustees of the Rural High school at that place, was a business visitor in McKinney in December 1912. He said that the trustees of this school have recently added to their building some new single desks, which are much more convenient for the pupils. Mr. Cantrel is a fine man and a very energetic school trustee. He states that he and the other trustees were going to make Valdasta school the best rural high school in the county.
Prof. G. E. Hutcheson was teacher of the Valdasta school in fall of 1912. His assistants were Misses Kate Myers and Estella Williams. There were about 100 students regularly in attendance and the school was in excellent condition. Prof. Hutcheson had been in charge of the Valdasta school for three years.
Prof. W. T. McCasland, principal of the Valdasta school, published the following report of honor roll students in his school for the month of February in 1916: Eighth grade – Porter Emerson and Andie Lowery
Sixth grade – Walter Emerson.
Fifth grade – Aaron Richardson
Fourth grade --Jim Lowery, Earl Davenport and Fannie Davis
Third grade -- Adolphus Richardson, Clyde Taylor, Weldon Hendricks, Oline Combest and Jewel Templeman
Second grade- Elmer Hanna, Ben Conger, and Truman Moore
First grade – Marvin Walker, Jonnie Hodges, Glen Rule, Beatrice Wilder, Pauline Barker and Maggie Martin.
Miss Sammie McFall was one of the teachers at Valdasta High School in 1916.
L. Dow Hendricks, former school superintendent of Collin County for two terms, was elected principal of the Valdasta School in 1939.
A newspaper article by Mrs. O. Scott in 1938 stated that Valdasta had an excellent four-room brick schoolhouse, located on the highway at a high and commanding prominence. It had one of the best and most spacious concrete underground storm-houses that we know of in the county. The school was located in the center of the village on the spacious campus. It had an enrollment of fifty-four pupils with Prof. Mally Alexander as Principal, and Mrs. Nell Karnaghan as Assistant Teacher. The public-spirited School Board was composed of Charley Cantrell, George McGuffey and Bailey Hendricks.
Mrs. Pauline Reavis started cooking and serving hot lunch to the Valdasta school children in February of 1940. When the school closed, the students went to Blue Ridge.
Old Valdasta Road
Blue Ridge, Texas
The community of Valdasta is situated twelve or fourteen miles northeast from McKinney near Sister Grove Creek. When the community applied for a post office in 1886, it wanted to use the name Vandersville. The name was rejected and Valdasta was suggested instead. The Burgess school, which was located about one-mile northwest of Valdasta, consolidated with Valdasta School around 1900. The new district was Valdasta School District #3.
The teachers at Valdasta school included was Miss Dora Nichols in 1901; J. S. Reid in 1905; Miss Ollie Sparks in 1907; and Prof. C. C. Martin and Miss Ethel McCormack in 1909. In the fall of 1907, the Valdasta school had thirty-seven pupils. “Grandpa” and “Grandma” Airheart and Miss Myrtle Smith, from the Wooddale community, visited in Valdasta. There were 109 students in 1912.
R. L. Cantrel of Valdasta, one of the trustees of the Rural High school at that place, was a business visitor in McKinney in December 1912. He said that the trustees of this school have recently added to their building some new single desks, which are much more convenient for the pupils. Mr. Cantrel is a fine man and a very energetic school trustee. He states that he and the other trustees were going to make Valdasta school the best rural high school in the county.
Prof. G. E. Hutcheson was teacher of the Valdasta school in fall of 1912. His assistants were Misses Kate Myers and Estella Williams. There were about 100 students regularly in attendance and the school was in excellent condition. Prof. Hutcheson had been in charge of the Valdasta school for three years.
Prof. W. T. McCasland, principal of the Valdasta school, published the following report of honor roll students in his school for the month of February in 1916: Eighth grade – Porter Emerson and Andie Lowery
Sixth grade – Walter Emerson.
Fifth grade – Aaron Richardson
Fourth grade --Jim Lowery, Earl Davenport and Fannie Davis
Third grade -- Adolphus Richardson, Clyde Taylor, Weldon Hendricks, Oline Combest and Jewel Templeman
Second grade- Elmer Hanna, Ben Conger, and Truman Moore
First grade – Marvin Walker, Jonnie Hodges, Glen Rule, Beatrice Wilder, Pauline Barker and Maggie Martin.
Miss Sammie McFall was one of the teachers at Valdasta High School in 1916.
L. Dow Hendricks, former school superintendent of Collin County for two terms, was elected principal of the Valdasta School in 1939.
A newspaper article by Mrs. O. Scott in 1938 stated that Valdasta had an excellent four-room brick schoolhouse, located on the highway at a high and commanding prominence. It had one of the best and most spacious concrete underground storm-houses that we know of in the county. The school was located in the center of the village on the spacious campus. It had an enrollment of fifty-four pupils with Prof. Mally Alexander as Principal, and Mrs. Nell Karnaghan as Assistant Teacher. The public-spirited School Board was composed of Charley Cantrell, George McGuffey and Bailey Hendricks.
Mrs. Pauline Reavis started cooking and serving hot lunch to the Valdasta school children in February of 1940. When the school closed, the students went to Blue Ridge.
