Panter Branch School

The Panter Branch School (also spelled Painter Branch), Hood County School District No. 7, was in operation by 1898 on a 25-acre plot of land on Hill City Highway south of Tolar. The two-room schoolhouse had two teachers and up to 42 pupils in attendance. Husband and wife, Tony and Grace Morrison, shared teaching duties for several years, serving grades one through eight. Panter Branch and other rural schools in the area often closed their doors for two or three weeks in the fall so that students could help their families pick cotton, thrash peanuts or cut feed. The school closed in the 1940s, officially consolidating with Tolar in 1949. The schoolhouse was used as a community center for many years. (2017)

Panter Branch School is a historical marker in Tolar, Hood County, dedicated in 2017. It is one of 60 historical markers documented in Hood County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 98 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.3449, -97.8909 near Tolar. The nearest cataloged historic site is Mt. Pleasant (cemetery), about 1.9 miles away. Others within a short drive include Tolar, Powell, and Coleman.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507018781. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.