Historic Pittsburg
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Guides / Historic Schools Tour
Historic Schools Tour
Center Point School and Community is just off Farm Road 2057 nine miles southeast of Pittsburg in southeastern Camp County. The site was originally settled by former slaves, beginning shortly after their emancipation in 1865. The Willie Johnson family was the first settlers and were soon joined by other families. Because the major roads through the area crossed at the center of the community, the settlement came to be known as Center Point. G.W. Goulsby opened a one-room school, the first in the settlement. Pete Griffin was the first teacher and the school enrolled thirty-one Black children. Center Point School went from a one room school in bad condition in 1900, to a two-teacher school eight years later. Public bonds sold in 1916 financed a five-room school and the Julius Rosenwald Foundation donated matching grant funds for construction and improvements to the school. With the funds the community came together and build four new buildings on the campus. By the 1935-36 school year it was regarded as one of Camp County's better schools. Nine of the school's ten teachers had at least B.A. degrees, and, the average teacher's salary was higher than that at any other Camp County school. Students maintained a farm and garden and operated a cannery. During the Great Depression the population started shrinking and in 1938 the Center Point High School was down to 78 students. In 1952 Center Point merged with the Pittsburg ISD