Site of Blackshear High School

In early 1890, Inez Rathbun earned money teaching area students at the Ector County Courthouse. About the same time, Ector County organized a public school system. Over the next decades, the number of students in the area steadily increased. In 1921, the Texas Legislature officially established the Ector County Independent School District (ECISD). Both Anglos and Mexican-American students attended the same school. In 1932, the district established the first African American school in a one-room structure at the corner of South Muskingum and Myrtle streets. Ella Sayles served as the first teacher for the initial class of eight students. As the school grew, the district added a second classroom and utilized space at a nearby church. Although the district added three more rooms in the 1940s, by the 1947-48 school year, increased population caused the students to attend classes in shifts. In the fall of 1948, a campus for Blackshear High School opened at this site. Named for the noted Texas black educator Edward Lavoisier Blackshear, the school provided expanded facilities for African American students in the upper grade levels. Upon integration of all the district schools in 1966, the campus was converted for use as Blackshear Middle School. In 1983, it became a magnet elementary school. Its link to early education in the community and to its namesake educator remain significant today. (2006)

Site of Blackshear High School is a historical marker in Odessa, Ector County, dedicated in 2006. It is one of 37 historical markers documented in Ector County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 39 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.8437, -102.3539 near Odessa. The nearest cataloged historic site is Ector County (cemetery), about 0.2 miles away. Others within a short drive include White-Pool/House, White-Pool House, and Dawson Saloon, Site of.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507013490. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.