Students educated at Center Point Schools until early ‘50s

From Staff Reports

The community of Center Point, known and described as “O’ Center,” was a wilderness some 120 years ago. There were no houses, roads, or mills. There was nothing but wild turkeys, a large variety of deer, rattlesnakes, wolves, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, and a countless number of squirrels. 
Most of the listed animals can still be seen in the area. Center Point is located approximately 10 miles from Pittsburg, the seat of Camp County. 
Center Point was at one time considered for the title of county seat, but placed number three in the voting. The community lies in a polygonal form which has for its boundaries Prairie Creek on the east, and the Ebenezer Community on the north and west. A traveler would observe a landscape bedecked with trees of many varieties. The scope of the land is virtually level, with many small streams interspersed. To the east and north are two large lakes, Flannigan and Dennigan.
The first black family moved to the area between 1865 and 1870. This family, the Willie Johnsons, set a precedent. Soon others followed their lead. 
The M. Jones family came next. Then came Sarah Wilkes, Nelse Churcher, Allen Thompson, and Lisa Harper. During the next 15 years, others followed. Phil Moore, Levi Pope, Jol Moore, Ralph Williams, and the Shack Cook family moved into the growing community. Naturally, as more people moved into the area, needs increased. A road was deemed a priority. A meeting was held with white citizens who owned the land where the road was best placed. 
The citizens agreed to give the land, and in the latter part of the 1890s, the next need was a name for the community. Levi Pope suggested that Center Point would be an appropriate name, and the people agreed. Next, a far-reaching and very important economic enterprise was undertaken by Center Point. 
The Union Company was organized in 1887, and chartered by the state of Texas in 1898. The purpose of the company was to aid families in buying farms, and making improvements in the community.
Education was also important to the settlers of the area. In 1889, G.W. Goulsby, a blind educator, opened a one-room schoolhouse. The school sat directly in front of what is now Center Point Baptist Church. Other educators
were Lula Harris, Isadore Booker, Ed Thompson, Robert Walker, A. Copeland, Mrs. G.W. Goulsby, E.W. Wilson, H.D. Hargest, E.L. Winters, A.B. Pittman, W. Rogers and Esalona Jones. 
The one-room school existed until 1911. In that year, Christine Benton Cash, with the cooperation of the community, launched a campaign for better schools. She had recently taken over the duties of principal from her husband, Larry Brown Cash. 
In the summer of 1912, plans were begun to build a rural school that would also include a four-year high school. Seeing the need for a better education, the citizens were determined that all subjects necessary for graduation would be included in the curriculum. This school was later rated as one of the best in the state.
By means of a bond issue, and local subscription, there was erected in 1916 a modern school building. 
This building consisted of five classrooms, well seated and supplied with blackboards, three cloakrooms, and a chemical laboratory in which students were taught to prepare and mix different compounds. In the year 1927, with the recommendation and aid of G.T. Blubworth, special rural agent of the State Department of Education, assistance was received from the Julius Rosenwald Fund to erect two other buildings. 
A teacherage and a home economics cottage were constructed. The teacherage was erected by two young men in the class of 1927. This project was supervised by J.C. Brown, and each building was very well equipped. 
Very soon, an agriculture building was erected. Boys were taught agriculture, mechanics, and practical carpentry. A school library was constructed in the early 1930s, which later contained more than 6,000 volumes. 
Daily and weekly papers and magazines were maintained for the betterment of the students and the community.
L.W. Rogers, of the State Board of Education, secured help from the General Board of Education, and a frame structure consisting of 20 rooms was built in 1935. The building provided living facilities for nonresident girls. 
The dormitory was built with a kitchen and living room in one unit, and separate living quarters in the other. Meals were prepared and served to students in this building.
As time passed and progress continued a boys’ dormitory was constructed entirely of native rock and was built by male students without any cost to the school.
The school cafeteria was built in 1939. Here children enjoyed many home-grown vegetables, fruits, and meats that were produced on the Center Point campus by students. The Cooperative Boarding
Plan aided students with room and board. The plan was divided into classes, with the highest class costing $10 per
month. Students helped pay their way by doing duty work in the classes and dormitories. Class D student boarders paid as little as $3.75 per month. The boys assisted in various ways, including providing fuel for the cooperative department. 
They would also work evenings and Saturdays. The girls in Class D worked in dormitories and in the laundry room. There was even a place for those that could not pay at all. 
They were put in Class F and would get full benefits of the school by attending half day sessions only. The board bill had to be paid in advance in either cash or food products. The only food products for payment were canned or evaporated fruits, corn, peas, potatoes, okra, beans, or tomatoes. 
The school owned and operated its own cannery. Other than the gardens on its own acreage, the school also rented acreage on additional land for crops to benefit the school and community. It was the intention of school leaders to can at least 6,000 cans of vegetables each summer.
Center Point School was enrolled in the Texas Interscholastic League of Colored Schools. Since no contest was held in Camp County or those surrounding it, contestants participated in the meets at Prairie View College. 
One memorable meeting was held on April 17, 1927. Nine Center Point students were selected to participate, and brought home many medals. Winners were Hubert Richardson, Marion Thompson, Blumer West, and J.C. Brown.
Other extracurricular activities included football, basketball, rhythm band, chorus, king and queen coronation, weekly Bible study, and community assistance programs.
Throughout the year, dormitories were filled with students from Texas and across the United States. Local students were transported by bus from adjoining communities. Students attended from as far away as Chicago, New
York, and Washington, D.C. The majority of teachers came from Texas. There were several, however, from Oklahoma, New York, Chicago, Georgia, and even the West Indies.
Another memorable time at Center Point was the Northeast Texas Negro Fair which originated in 1912. An exhibit hall and race track was constructed and exhibits consisted of canned foods, needlework, curios, livestock, poultry, and other farm commodities. This enterprise had the encouragement and cooperation of leading citizens of the area.
Through the operation of the fair, it was determined that a more efficient school program could be developed. Some leaders of the Fair were A.A. Johnson, H.C. Mitchell, I.G. Gardner, A.L. Pope, P. Newsome, and B.M.W. Floyd.
The last addition to the Center Point campus came in 1945. A gymnasium was built for use by students. Dr.
Cash was a native of Texas, born in Jefferson. She was the first honors graduate of Bishop College in 1926 with a B.A. degree. In 1943, she earned her M.A. degree from Atlanta University and in 1947, her doctorate from the University of Wisconsin. She died in 1988.
Larry Brown Cash was born in Camp County. Being certified to teach in public schools in 1908, he was given the task of teaching in a one-room school at Center Point. He earned his B.S. and M.A. degree from Prairie View College. Later, he earned a B.A. degree from Bishop College in religious education. Rev. Cash died in 1983.
Lucille Barnes Harrison became county superintendent of schools in 1923 at age 20, and served as superintendent during the growth years of Center Point School. She remembered traveling part of the distance to the school in a Model T Ford and the rest by wagon to get supervisors, inspectors, and educators to the school. One former student, Edwardene Taylor Armstrong, was one of the last students to attend Center Point School in
1952. She stated how she felt in 1952 when she rode the bus to her new school, Pittsburg’s Douglass High School, for the first time. She thought of the whys and whats with much sadness. With the consolidation of Camp County schools in 1952, the Center Point Training School became history. 
The spirit and knowledge gained from Center Point Training School became history. The spirit and knowledge gained from Center Point will always dwell in the hearts of those who passed through its doors.